Hypnosis For Idiots
by Dreamr
Summary: Mihoshi hypnotizes the other girls.
1. Blazing Sun

Hypnosis For Idiots, Part One: Blazing Sun 

DISCLAIMER: Tenchi Muyo! is copyright AIC/Pioneer, LDC. I claim no rights to it. However, this story is of my own imagination. Please, no plagiarism or altering without permission from the author.

FOREWORD: This is the first of a two-part fic. Just a little idea I came up with and decided to run with. Send all critiques to the address below.

AUTHOR: Dreamr  
EMAIL: TrueDreamr@Hotmail.com  
LAST REVISION: 04 November 2003

* * *

BEGIN.

Mihoshi really disliked cleaning. Even when someone praised her for it, she still hated it. That was not to say she lived like a pig. But she still hated cleaning, even when the messes became intolerable. Since she had come to live in the Masaki house on Earth, she had gratefully abandoned her cluttered rooms aboard Yukinojo. However, standing on the threshold of her cabin, even she could not ignore the smell. She gazed about in distaste at the many and varied piles of disorder within. With a reluctant titter of humor, she likened the multi-colored globes of growth on her coffee table to some of Washu's lesser science experiments.

"Well, I guess I'd better get started." She sighed. "Kiyone would have a fit if she saw this mess."

Thinking of her former partner often helped Mihoshi to feel more motivated when it came to cleaning-up. Kiyone had had a real fetish about cleanliness.

As was always the case when Mihoshi tried to clean her cabin, she somehow managed to cause a small landslide of messiness. And, as always, it was not really her fault. Even the sturdiest bookcase can hold only so much stuff before it collapses. Mihoshi cowered under a rain of books, magazines, and other memorabelia from across the galaxy. Once the storm came to a stop, Mihoshi bravely opened her eyes. Lying in plain sight on top of the mess was a large golden medallion. Mihoshi broke into an immense smile when she saw the object. With this very same object she had once hypnotized Kiyone into thinking she was a poodle. Some very strange things had happened that day.

"Wow! I was wondering where this went to!"

Picking up the medallion by it's heavy gold chain, Mihoshi watched it slowly spin around. One side was gold with a sun emblazoned on it. The other side, which had been facing down, was adorned with a silver full-moon. Both sides had very mystical-looking runes etched around the circumference. Just looking at it made her feel sleepy.

"Kiyone..." Mihoshi sighed, remembering her old partner. Suddenly, she thought of the perfect way to pay tribute to Kiyone's memory.

"I know! I'll show this to everyone at home. We'll have tons of fun!"

* * *

Within the main room of the Masaki family's home in Okayama, Aeka was sewing away at another one of her needlework patters, Sasami was arranging some flowers, and Ryoko was lounging in the rafters where Aeka could not see her bottle of sake. When Mihoshi suddenly appeared in the middle of the room at mid-day without crash-landing her shuttle, it was quite a shock.

"Hey, everybody!" Mihoshi yelled as soon as she reappeared, cube in hand.

"Holy shit!" Ryoko exclaimed, looking down. "You didn't crash!"

"Ryoko!" Aeka promptly objected to Ryoko's use of rough language. "What have I told you about swearing in the house?"

"Don't know. I wasn't listening."

Aeka ground her teeth with annoyance at Ryoko's leering smile.

"Hi, Mihoshi!" Sasami cheerfully greeted her friend. "How come you're home so early?"

Mihoshi paused as she realized she had completely forgotten to go on patrol today.

"Whoops! I got so wrapped up in cleaning out my cabin that I plumb forgot to go to work!"

"Mihoshi!" Sasami giggled aloud. "You're gonna get into trouble if you keep skipping your patrols."

"Yeah, your right about that." Mihoshi agreed. "Maybe I should work late to make up for it. Thanks for reminding me, Sasami."

As Mihoshi began to manipulate her dimensional cube to reboard her shuttle, she realized that she was holding something in her hand.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Everybody, come take a look at what I've got!" Mihoshi nearly ran to the couch to sit next to her friends. She was so excited that she actually tried to jump over the back of the piece of furniture. Of course, not being inclined towards displays of athletic dexterity, she tripped on the couch and did a face-plant just in front of the couch.

"O-o-w-w..."

Ryoko laughed as Aeka and Sasami helped Mihoshi get back to her feet.

"Miss Ryoko, I would like to know what is so funny about another person's misfortune?"

"Oh, it's okay, Aeka. I don't mind if she laughs. I'm pretty much used to it by now."

"That doesn't make it right."

"I laugh because it's funny." Ryoko explained from on high. "You should try laughing once in a while. People might like you better."

"What? Are you insinuating that people don't like me?"

"Did I say that?"

"Anyway..." Mihoshi interrupted once she was upright again. "I wanted to show you this!" She held the medallion up for everybody to see.

"What's that?" Sasami curiously asked.

Mihoshi's smile grew very wide.

"This is the medallion I once used to turn my old partner, Kiyone, into a dog."

That got everyone's attention.

"A dog?" They all asked at once.

"A poodle, actually."

"What does it do?" Ryoko asked as she descended from her perch to get a closer look. "Rearrange their molecules or something?"

"No, silly!" Even Sasami understood how Mihoshi had used the medallion to change her partner into a dog. "Mihoshi hypnotized her."

"O-o-o-h-h-h. I've heard about that." Ryoko commented in a long, drawn out sound of realization.

"So have I." Aeka revealed. "But couldn't that be dangerous?"

"Oh, no!" Mioshi assured her. "It's perfectly safe. Uh, although, Kiyone did make a bit of a mess in the engine room."

The other girls' expressions of distaste made it clear to Mihoshi that that kind of behavior was not acceptable.

"Okay, then. No animals. So who wants to go first?"

"I do!" Sasami immediately volunteered.

"Shouldn't we have a professional on hand, just in case? Perhaps Miss Washu..."

"Quit being such a stick in the mud. Go ahead, Mihoshi. Hypnotize Sasami. I could use a good laugh."

Out voted three-to-one, Aeka had no choice but to accept that Mihoshi was going to hypnotize at least one person this afternoon.

"Very well. But I'm not at all comfortable with this."

"Okay." Mihoshi started waving the medallion back and forth in front of Sasami's face. She spoke in a clear, calm voice. "You're getting sleepy; very sleepy. You..."

Mihoshi stopped to let out a huge, face-splitting yawn. Ryoko immediately broke into a fit of snickering laughter.

"Hey, you're supposed to be hypnotizing Sasami, not yourself!"

"Oh, goodness. Sorry about that. I've been up all day without a nap. Okay. I'll start again." Starting the medallion moving again, Mihoshi restarted the session.

"You're getting very sleepy, Sasami. You are so sleepy, you just can't seem to keep your eyes open." As Mihoshi spoke, Sasami did indeed appear to be getting sleepy. "Your eyelids are very heavy. You can't keep them open anymore. Relax. Don't fight it. Relax and go to sleep."

Looking carefully at Sasami's peaceful face, Mihoshi tried to discern if she was asleep yet.

"Um, I think that did it."

Aeka and Ryoko stared at Sasami in absolute astonishment. They looked from Sasami, to Mihoshi, to the medallion, then at each other, and then back at Mihoshi.

"Wow!" They both excalimed.

Ryoko stretched a hand out and waved it in front of Sasami's face.

"She's really hypnotized." A large grin spread across her face. "Okay, Mihoshi. Let's have some fun with her."

"Nothing dangerous." Aeka insisted. "And, will she remember any of this?"

"Nope!" Mihoshi answered. "Not unless I tell her to."

"This is gonna be cool." Ryoko chuckled. "Make her do something."

"Um, okay. Uh..."

"Come on, come on! Some animal impressions, or something."

"Um, okay. Sasami, bark like a dog."

Sasami immediately began yapping like a small canine.

"Yaip-yap-yip!"

Mihoshi and Ryoko immediately started laughing. Even Aeka had to admit it was funny. She held a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"Okay, okay! Something else." Ryoko asked.

"Okay, um... Ah! Sasami, you are Ryo-o-ki!"

"Yeah!"

Sasami drew her legs up under her hips and sat on the couch with her hands down in front of her.

"Myan!" She called, doing a passable imitation of their cute and furry little friend. When she started scratching behind her ear with her hind foot, the girls all laughed out loud.

The sound of another cabbit in the house caught the attention of the real Ryo-o-ki. She soon came cautiously hopping down the stairs to investigate the excitement. Tentatively, she called to her friends.

"Mya?"

Sasami immedaitely looked over her shoulder to see what was making the sound. Ryo-o-ki and Sasami stared at each other in silence for several seconds.Finally, Sasami slowly crawled to the floor. She made her was cautiously across the floor and up the stairs. Ryo-o-ki sat still, watching Sasami's odd behavior until the princess was nearly nose-to-nose with her. Suddenly, Sasami kissed Ryo-o-ki right on the end of the nose. The girls chuckled as Ryo-o-ki sat back a bit in confusion. But, seeing that it was Sasami who was being so nice to her, she soon decided that she was just being friendly.

"Mya!" Ryo-o-ki crowed happily. She then turned and hopped off the side of the stairs, expecting that Sasami would do the normal thing and run down the stairs to meet her. Of course, since Sasami thought she was Ryo-o-ki, she went for the more direct route.

"NO!" Aeka screached in fright as her sister leapt over the stair rail, fully expecting she would land on the floor unharmed. Fortunately, the princess had others watching out for her.

As soon as Ryoko had seen Ryo-o-ki jump down, she had known Sasami would do the same. She teleported in plenty of time to catch Sasami. Ryoko looked down at Sasami as she snuggled into her breasts just like Ryo-o-ki would do.

"Heh. Close one."

"That is quite enough of this!" Aeka strenuously voiced her opinion. "Mihoshi, return Sasami to her normal state at once!"

"But there's one I wanted to do!"

"Forget it!"

"Aw, come on, Aeka." Ryoko tried to convince the other princess everything was kosher. "We're watching out for her, see?"

Looking at the way Sasami seemed to enjoy being held to Ryoko's chest, she was not at all certain that continuing was in her sister's best interest. But before she could say any more, Mihoshi gave Sasami her next command.

"Sasami, you're Tsunami!"

Ryoko and Aeka stood stock still as Sasami slowly uncoiled her limbs.

"Um, excuse me..."

Ryoko released Sasami so that she could stand on her own. The young lady looked up at her in obvious confusion.

"Pardon me. But... how did I get here?"

"Uh..."

When Ryoko could offer no explanations, Sasami looked around to see who else was around.

"Ah. Mihoshi. Now I understand." Walking gracefully back to her former place on the couch, Sasami reclaimed her position next to Mihoshi. "You should not exercise such techniques without a professional hypnotist present. It could have unwanted effects."

"Told you." Aeka quipped.

"But," Sasami continued with an affectionate smile. "since I know it's all in fun, I won't hold it against you."

"Well, that's good. I wouldn't want a goddess mad at me."

"Boring." Ryoko complained as she came back to sit on the couch once more. "Your turn, Aeka."

"My turn?" Aeka objected. "What about you? Why not you, instead?"

"It doesn't work on me."

"A likely excuse."

"It's true. I've tried it."

"Why do I not believe you?"

"Well," Mihoshi interrupted them again. "I was going to hypnotize Aeka next, anyway."

"Why me?"

"Because you've got no will power." Ryoko answered for Mihoshi.

"What?!"

The girls turned to Sasami when they heard her chuckling softly from behind.

"Aeka, don't you know Ryoko teases you because she likes you?"

"What? That's crazy!"

"Would I lie to you?"

Aeka immediately grew less confrontational and more sheepish.

"Ah, well, that is to say, I didn't mean..."

Seeing an opportunity to put the whole issue to rest, Mihoshi held the medallion in front of Aeka's face and began swinging it back and forth.

"You're getting sleepy, Aeka. You're very tired."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm..." Aeka objection stopped when she let loose a huge, unprincessly yawn. "Oh, my. Please, excuse me. I seem to be very tired all of a sudden."

"Yes, Aeka. You're very tired. You can't stay awake any more. You'll be asleep in seconds. You..."

Aeka's chin thumped to her chest.

"Wow, that was easy." Mihoshi remarked.

"I told you she had no will power."

"No kidding. Okay. So... what's first?"

"Impressions." Ryoko suggested. "Make her think she's somebody else."

"Hmm..." Mihoshi thought about it for a second, then she smiled as a novel idea came to her. "Aeka, you're Tenchi's father!"

"Oh, good one!"

"Hello, ladies!" Aeka spoke in a lower-toned jovial voice. Her eyes ran up and down each of the girls sitting next to her. "It looks like it's just us."

Ryoko smiled at the unspoken insinuations in Aeka's imitation of Nobuyuki. She had him down almost perfect.

"You know..." Aeka continued, smiling suggestively. "I can understand why you girls find Tenchi to be such a catch. If you gave me a good enough reason, I might be able to put in a good word for one of you."

Aeka's impression of Nobuyuki was so good that, for several seconds, the girls could only stare at her suggestive smirk. Then they burst out laughing. Even Sasami, who was still convinced that she was Tsunami, laughed at the scene as Aeka casually draped an arm around each of them..

"Of course, I can't recommend any girl without getting to know her better. I've got a nice selection of sake up in my study. Why don't we have a drink while we get to know each other better?"

Ryoko laughed so hard at the blatant invitation that she fell off the couch. Mihoshi was also enjoying herself at Nobuyuki's expense, although not quite so freely as Ryoko. To tell the truth, the overtures were strating to make her a little uncomfortable. Fortunately for her, Aeka knelt down on the floor to offer Ryoko assistance in rising.

"Miss Ryoko! Are you all right? Can I help you up?"

Looking up at Aeka as she looked down, an incredibly perverted and hilarious notion suddenly entered Ryoko's mind. It would never happen for real, but this was for fun. In her mind, that made it all right. Looking up at Aeka, she used her sugariest voice.

"Nobuyuki... I... can't seem get up on my own."

Aeka did not hesitate to offer Nobuyuki's kind of "assistance".

"Here. Let me help you." Aeka slid one arm under Ryoko's shoulders, and the other under her thighs. Ryoko was not at all surprised when she felt Aeka's hand well up on the back of her thigh. But when Aeka tried to lift Ryoko, she came up against one of the obstacles involved in this little show. She might think that she was Nobuyuki, but she still had the body of Aeka. In other words, she was no where near as strong as Tenchi's father.

"Oof." Aeka groaned as she tried unsuccessfully to lift Ryoko from the floor. "You, ah... seem to be heavier than I remember."

Ryoko remained silent, barely, as Aeka squatted down to get better leverage. With a groan, Aeka managed to get Ryoko up into her arms, but only as long as it took for her to take one step and just about dump her on the couch.

"Jeez. Maybe I should start working out."

Ryoko bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. This was the most fun she had had in... well, ever.

"Oh, Nobuyuki. You're so gallant and strong. Tenchi's so lucky." Raising a finger to her eye, Ryoko wiped away a false tear. "I never knew my parents. It would be an honor if I could call you father.

"Ah!" Aeka grabbed Ryoko's hand and held it tight. "She called me father!"

"Honorable Father..."

"Oh, I've chosen the one I want! Er, for Tenchi, I mean." Aeka began to lean closer, obviously intent on a kiss.

"Okay, Mihoshi. Change to someone else."

Mihoshi stared at the developing scene, her face glowing beet-red. It was just like a soap opera. She would not have changed the channel if the entire galaxy were threatened.

"Mihoshi."

Aeka was getting very close.

"Mihoshi!" Ryoko could smell Aeka's breath as the princess closed her eyes and puckered-up.

"MIHOSHI!"

Contact.

"Whoa!" Mihoshi exclaimed in wonder as Ryoko wriggled and struggled under Aeka's grip, which suddenly seemed much stronger than it should have been. She and Sasami stared at the spectacle until Ryoko finally flipped them the bird, reminding the watchers that this was not quite what she considered as romantic.

"Oh! Yeah, right. Um..." Mihoshi considered for a moment who she should change Aeka into next. Considering what was happening, the logical choice was Tenchi.

"Aeka, you are now Tenchi!"

Ryoko froze. That was a different idea. Of course, it was still Aeka on top of her. But it did make things a little more tolerable. Unfortunately, as soon as Aeka realized what was going on, she quickly backed away to the other side of the couch.

"Um..."

Ryoko sat up on her elbows. Aeka was looking down at her hands, only occasionally sending a worried look in her direction.

"Ryoko, was I just... I mean, were we..."

Ryoko smiled.

"Yes, Tenchi. We were about to make love. Why did you stop?"

"I... don't think... I think something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, Tenchi." Ryoko assured Aeka as she got to her knees and crawled to her side. "We've known each other long enough. Just promise me to be gentle. It's my first time."

Aeka's face turned a bit red.

"I meant, um, well... why am I dressed like Aeka?"

"Oh, that. Uh... oh, boy. Um... we thought you would feel more comfortable this way."

"Just how is this supposed to help?" Aeka skeptically asked.

"Well, you always seem so shy around us girls that we decided to ask Washu for a little favor."

"Washu?" Aeka asked. "Why would you need Washu's help to..." Then answer suddenly revealed itself to Aeka/Tenchi. "Oh, no."

Ryoko cuddled up to Aeka, slipping one arm around her shoulders putting the other on her thigh.

"Make love to me, Tenchi."

"Excuse me." Aeka said, standing up. Quickly, she loosened the front of her kimono and looked down. "Oh, my god."

"What's the matter, Tenchi? Doesn't it turn you on to look at Aeka's body?"

"That is not the point, Ryoko!"

"Really? But you haven't checked downstairs yet."

It took Aeka a second to figure out what Ryoko meant by "downstairs". Although the others could not see her hands, they could see her arms. They slowly moved South until her forearms were pointing to her private area.

"Oh, no..."

Ryoko chuckled a bit. But this was not nearly as entertaining as she thought it should be. Just like Tenchi, Aeka was taking things very calmly.

"This is boring." Mihoshi commented.

"Yup." Ryoko agreed. "Next."

"May I make a suggestion?"

Ryoko and Mihoshi turned to look at Sasami, who had been silent most of the time.

"Oh, yeah!" Mihoshi suddenly remembered. "I forgot to change you back."

"Yeah." Ryoko agreed. "You'd better not leave her like that or Aeka'll have a fit."

"No problem. Sasami, you're yourself again."

"I hate to disappoint you." Sasami said in the same voice. "But do you believe hypnosis would work on a goddess?"

"Heck no." Mihoshi promptly aswered.

"Then is it resonable to believe Sasami would think any differently?"

"Um..."

"Uh-oh." Ryoko mumbled. "Does this mean you're stuck like that?"

Sasami slowly nodded.

"That's weird." Mihoshi commented. "Kiyone didn't have any problems like that."

"Yeah, well, you didn't tell Kiyone to impersonate Tsunami, either."

"That's true." Mihoshi agreed. "Um, should we go get Washu?"

"Actually," Sasami broke in, "I'd like to stay for a little longer. It's been a very long time since I've been this entertained!"

"Oh. Well, I don't mind. Do you mind, Ryoko?"

Ryoko just shrugged.

"What about you, Aeka?"

Aeka said nothing, since she was still convinced she was Tenchi in Aeka's body.

"Oh, right. Never mind. So, what was your idea?"

"I think Aeka should imitate Miss Ryoko."

"Yeah! That'll be really funny!" Mihoshi agreed with a giggle.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ryoko objected, but not before Mihoshi could give Aeka the proper command.

"Aeka, you're now Ryoko."

Aeka spun around and glared at those assembled.

"All right. What's the big idea? Who put me in Aeka's clothes?" Looking around Aeka's gaze locked on Ryoko. "Was it you? Wait a minute. Who the Hell are you?"

Thinking quickly, Ryoko gave a totally lame answer.

"I'm a figment of your imagination."

Aeka stared at her for a second, apparently thinking about that. Then she shrugged in acceptance.

"Fine."

Ryoko hissed at Aeka's too easy acceptance of her response. To Ryoko, it meant that Aeka thought of her as an imbecile, which was not the truth. Ryoko prefered to think of herself as uneducated. School had never been a part of her life.

"How can that princess stand to wear this stuff?" Aeka muttered as she began to take off her kimono. The others watched in surprise, then bewilderment as Aeka disrobed right down to her underclothes.

"Oh, my." Mihoshi mutter while Ryoko grinned. This was somewhat more entertaining than Aeka's impression of Tenchi.

"This part isn't too bad. But the colors suck and it makes my tits look too small."

Mihoshi slapped a hand over her mouth at the language Aeka was using. Ryoko chuckled at it. Aeka continued to twist around while examining herself. After a few seconds more, she came to another conclusion.

"This hanging stuff's got to go." Gripping the narrow skirts that hung down from her undercloths in the front, Aeka gave it a good pull and tore it away. Casually dropping the material to the floor, she then went to the rear and tore that one off, as well.

"There. What do you think, Sasami? Does it suit me?"

Aeka began strutting around the room to show off her new outfit.

Mihoshi laughed and chuckled at Aeka's rather over-blown imitation.

"It looks very nice." Sasami answered.

"Really? Hm. You don't suppose Aeka'll miss it, do you?"

"No, she won't miss it."

A large grin was spreading across Aeka's face when the outside door opened.

"I'm home!" Tenchi announced as he made his return from his daily chores.

An entirely new look came across Aeka's face. With a hungry smile, she turned to face the entryway where Tenchi would soon emerge into the main room and put a hand on one hip. When Tenchi finally made his way into the room and saw Aeka, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Uh..."

"So, Tenchi. How do I look?"

"Uh..."

With a mischievous giggle, Aeka suddenly took a running leap at Tenchi and jumped up on him, wrapping her arms and legs around him. Tenchi took a step back as Aeka's inertia nearly knocked him down. Fortunately, she was not a particularly large or heavy person, and he was able to keep his balance.

"Aeka, what are you doing?!"

Aeka turned her head this way and that, looking for the person she thought was her arch-rival. Once she was sure Aeka was not anywhere nearby, she looked at Tenchi in confusion.

"Where?"

Tenchi stared back at Aeka until she smiled.

"I get it. This little outfit makes me look like Aeka." With a pout, Aeka quickly switched gears. "That hurts my feelings, Tenchi. I can forgive you, but only if you give me a kiss."

"What?" Tenchi asked, incredulous.

Ryoko grinned maniacally and Mihoshi tried hard not to laugh as Aeka leaned closer to Tenchi, bringing her nose-to-nose with him.

"Don't be shy, Tenchi. I know you want me. I can feel it. Or... is that your sword in your pocket?"

"Change her back." Ryoko suddenly demanded, no longer smiling. If Tenchi was actually getting excited by Aeka's little performance, then there was no way this girl was going to let her continue.

"What? Why?" Mihoshi asked. "I'm having fun."

"Oops." Aeka said with a smile. "My mistake. It's in your belt."

Tenchi's face turned bright red as he tried to pry Aeka from around his hips.

"Cut it out!"

"Change her back!" Ryoko demnded again, this time with more force in her voice.

"Okay, okay!" Mihoshi reluctantly agreed. "Aeka, you're yourself again."

At first, it did not appear that anything had changed. Aeka continued to cling to Tenchi, who continued to squirm in her grasp. But soon her face turned even redder than Tenchi's. She suddenly let go of him, dropping to her feet.

"I..."

"Aeka, what is up with you today? You... don't usually do stuff like that." Tenchi looked her over once. "And why are you... ah, half-naked?"

Aeka's eyes went wide. Then she looked down and saw that she was wearing only her undercloths, and even that seemed to be missing something. Growing angry, she whirled around to confront the other girls.

"What did you do to me?!"

Being almost painfully honest, Mihoshi gave Aeka her answer.

"We hypnotized you into thinking you were Ryoko."

"What?!"

With Aeka acting like herself again, Ryoko felt much relieved. Frankly, she found prissy little Aeka to be much more entertaining than the sexually agressive version.

"Hey, no sweat, Aeka. I won't hold it against you."

"Thanks for nothing." Aeka muttered as she walked back to where she had removed her kimono. Although she was indeed embarrassingly clad, it was nothing anyone in this room had not seen before, even Tenchi. At this point, there was nothing more she could do other than to retrieve her clothes. However, when Ryoko suddenly got up from the couch and retrieve her kimono for her, Aeka began to worry.

"What are you doing with my clothes?"

"Relax." Ryoko told Aeka, handing the kimono to her with a smile. "Nothing happened."

Aeka snatched the clothing from her.

"For your sake, I hope not."

Walking past Aeka, Ryoko went to greet Tenchi. He had not yet moved from his place. As she approached him, his eyes finally focused on her, instead of the First Princess.

"Welcome Home, Tenchi."

"Uh... okay."

Without asking, Ryoko put her arms around Tenchi's waist and gave him a brief hug. He tensed for a moment, but when she released him only a few seconds later, he relaxed.

"Are you girls sure everything's all right, here?"

Ryoko just stared at Tenchi. In the few seconds she had had her arms around him, she had been able to verify that Tenchi's sword, the Master Key he had inherited from his grandfather, was snugly secured at it's usual place in his belt. It left her wondering if Aeka had really felt something, or if she had only been joking with Tenchi.

"Okay, Ryoko!" Mihoshi called from the couch. "It's your turn, next."

"I told you, it won't work on me."

"You could at least let me try."

"Ryoko, what's going on, here?"

"Miss Mihoshi is demonstrating her hypnotism skills." Aeka answered for Ryoko.

"Hypnotism?" Tenchi asked with a growing smile. "You're kidding."

"Nope." Ryoko finally spoke, breaking her stare to go sit back on the couch. "I'll tell you what, Mihoshi. When you're done failing to hypnotize me, you can try it with Tenchi."

"Cool!" Mihoshi enthusiastically agreed.

"Um, maybe you should ask me, first." Tenchi suggested, giving Ryoko the hairy eyeball.

"Go ahead, Mihoshi." Ryoko prompted the blond again. "Give it your best shot."

"Okay!" Mihoshi agreed, holding the medallion up once again. As she set the object in motion, Ryoko even went along by following it with her eyes.

"You're getting very sleepy." Mihoshi methodically chanted. "Really, really, sleepy. You really want to take a nap."

As Ryoko followed the pendulum-like motion of the medallion, she found her eyelids were growing very heavy. Much to her surprise, she was having more and more difficulty keeping her eyes focused on the gold and silver ornament's movements. Combined with Mihoshi's steady monotonous voice, her mind slowly grew quiet and calm. Her eyes closed.

"You're asleep." Mihoshi decided, without even checking.

"Very good, Mihoshi." Aeka congratulated as she finished adjusting her kimono. "Now, I have some questions for Miss Ryoko, if you don't mind."

"Are you sure this is safe, Mihoshi?" Tenchi asked, concerned. "This is Ryoko we're messing with."

"Sure, I'm sure." Mihoshi confidently answered. "Watch this. Ryoko, how much do you love Tenchi?"

"With all my heart."

"Mihoshi, are you certain she isn't lying?" Aeka suspiciously asked.

"I don't think she can lie like this."

Tenchi's face colored a bit.

"I don't think Ryoko would want to talk about these things."

"It's a small price to pay for making me think I was her." Aeka insisted, pressing on. "Besides, every time I ask Brother Yosho about their battle, he avoids the question. I want to know the truth about it."

"I think it's pretty clear." Tenchi said, trying to answer the question without poking around in Ryoko's subconscious. "Ryoko was locked-up in that cave for seven hundred years. Obviously Yosho won."

"It can't be that simple! Lord Tenchi, I was there when Ryoko attacked Jurai. You didn't see what she is capable of. Some of the things Miss Ryoko did were thought to be impossible! I agree that it is obvious that my brother defeated Ryoko. It is also obvious that his tree has taken root on this planet because of her. But I can't believe that depriving Ryoko of her power was so easy! There must be more to it."

"I'm sure there is. But I just don't see how it's important anymore. They're both alive and well, and living peacefully here in Okayama. What more could you ask for?"

"Alive and well, you say. Lord Tenchi, did you know that with bio-enhancement the average lifespan of a member of the Jurai Royal Family is well over ten thousand years?"

Tenchi's jaw dropped at the figure Aeka presented to him.

"Ten... thousand?"

"Yes, ten thousand! Yosho is barely over seven hundred and look at him! He's an old man! By destroying his ship and forcing Funaho to take root, she has deprived him of the life that was his by right! I demand an accounting!"

The others in attendance stared at Aeka in astonishment. Her anger and frustration were plainly evident in how upset she was getting about this. Aeka took a deep, calming breath, then continued.

"As First Princess of the Jurai Royal Family, I have a responsibility to learn the truth. As Yosho's sister, and former fiancee, I believe I have the right to ask this."

Aeka stared Tenchi in the eye, daring him to object further.

"I guess..."

"There." Aeka accepted Tenchi reluctanct response as an affirmative answer. She quickly returned her attention to the young woman lying hypnotized on the couch. "So, then, Miss Ryoko. I want you to tell me what happened after Yosho expelled you from the palace."

"I flew away in Ryo-o-ki." Ryoko began her recounting of the incident. "Some Jurai ships are chasing me. They're weak and annoying." A malevolent smile spreads across Ryoko's face, even though she is under Mihoshi's spell. "Ryo-o-ki destroyed them easily. All except the prince's ship. His ship is stronger than the others. At least as strong as the first prince's ship."

"Wait a moment. What prince are you refering to?"

"The first one."

"I know that!" Aeka growled at Ryoko.

After having only watched the events occuring, Sasami finally spoke up.

"She must mean Azu- I mean, Father's ship, Kirito. It's the only other first-generation ship."

"Yes, that must be it." Aeka agreed. "Ryoko, what was the first prince's name?"

"Kagato told me his name was Azusa of the Jurai Royal Family."

"I see. Hmm, well, continue your story, please."

"I think I'll call the new prince and ask him to take us someplace where we could be alone." There was a slight pause as the memories replayed in Ryoko's mind Then she smiled. "He says he can take us to see his mother's home-town. He's laughing and saying that it sounds like a marriage proposal."

"Excuse me?" Aeka asked, rather doubtful of what ryoko was saying. "Are you certain of that?"

"Yes." Ryoko answered, still smiling. "I think I'll accept his proposal."

"What?!"

"Easy, Aeka." Tenchi tried to calm the princess.

"I cut communications after seeing the look on his face." Ryoko continued without waiting for Aeka. "He was heading towards a hyper-space gate nearby. I'm pretty sure he wants to use it. It probably leads to his mother's home, like he said. So I'll go through first, just to give him some added incentive."

"I see." Aeka commented. "If Yosho were to take a powerful ship like Funaho through one of those, the power surge would cause the gate to self-destruct. I wonder if Ryo-o-ki would have had the same effect?"

"Ha!" Ryoko suddenly barked out with glee. "He followed me. To bad I've got the element of surprise. I think I'll go visit him on his ship."

"That's impossible."

"What a wierd ship. It's all wood. There's the prince. He looks surprised to see me. Oh, well. Time to fight."

Ryoko's body suddenly spasmed a bit, as if she were having a strange dream.

"Wow, he dodged my attack. He is good. Wait a sec, what the Hell? I'm someplace else. But there's more space."

While the others were looking around in confusion, Aeka offered a possible explanation.

"The tree aboard a Jurai ship has the ability to warp space. That is how the habitat is maintained. That's probably were they went."

"Yup. That's what he's saying. All righty, then."

Ryoko falls into a long silence accompanied by twitches and more spasms. But as the fight replays, her smile quickly disappears.

"I... can't follow him. He's too fast. His sword... He's better with his sword. I have to push him back."

Ryoko features harden into one of intense concentration. But almost immediately, the look is replaced by one of astonishment.

"The Light-Hawk Wings!"

"What?!" Everyone asks, in surprise.

"Where'd he go?" Ryoko asked aloud. Suddenly, with a shout she jerks to one side. "My hand!" Then she jerks to the other side. "He took my hands!"

"Come one!" Tenchi finally objects. "That's enough! Can't you see this is hurting her?"

"Screw this!" Ryoko shouted. "I'm outta here!"

"All right, Miss Ryoko." Aeka calmly spoke. "Calm down, now. I want lucid memories, not rantings and ravings."

Slowly, Ryoko's breathing began to slow.

"He took two of my gems. That son of a bitch took my gems! Ryo-o-ki. Yes, that's it. I can funnel my power into Ryo-o-ki. He can't use that damn sword on me from here. Go, Ryo-o-ki! Kill the prince!"

"Aeka, that's enough." Tenchi insisted again. "Mihoshi, wake her up."

"Kill him!"

"You know, Aeka, I agree with Tenchi. I think this has gone far enough. It's supposed to be fun, not weird."

"KILL HIM!" A golden aura began to form around Ryoko, making the room glow brightly.

"Oh, dear." Sasami said as Tenchi and Aeka began to back away.

"KILL HIM!"

"Um, bye-bye, now." Mihoshi ran for the door as sparks of energy began arcing across Ryoko's prone body.

Aeka managed to erect a protective shiled just before a massive explosion consumed the front of the Masaki house.

* * *

Deep withIn the guts of her extra-dimensional laboratory, Washu Hakubi, the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe barely noticed the seismic disturbance caused by a massive energy discharge. Only the silent descent of a few lonely dust particles betrayed the events going on outside.

"Kids these days..." She muttered.

END.

* * *

AFTERWORD: You may have noticed that Nobuyuki and Katsuhito do not appear in this part. You have my word that at least Katsuhito will appear in Part Two: Darkening Moon. I'll also offer a small explanation as to how I came up with the chapter names.


	2. Darkening Moon

Hypnosis For Idiots, Chapter 2: Darkening Moon 

DISCLAIMER: Tenchi Muyo! is copyright AIC/Pioneer, LDC. I claim no rights to it. However, this story is entirely of my own imagination. Please, no plagiarism or altering without permission from the author.

FOREWORD: Not much to say here. The story continues.

AUTHOR: Dreamr  
E-MAIL:  
LAST REVISION:

* * *

  


BEGIN.

Lord Katsuhito Masaki, Shinto Priest, was quite pleased when someone other than Tenchi entered the shrine office to see him. Guests at the Masaki Shrine were rare enough that any visitors were welcome. It was even more pleasing that his guest was one of the pretty young ladies living with his grandson. But he found Ryoko's battle attire to be a little out of place. Perhaps the explosion he had heard a minute ago was not one the normal squabbles that routinely occured in the Masaki home. Regardless, it would not hurt to be polite.

"Come in, Miss Ryoko. What can this old man do for you?"

Ryoko stared at the smiling old man who was sitting on the tatami mats. How could he know who she was? She had not been on this planet before. Well, it did not matter. She had a mission to complete.

"I'm looking for a prince."

"Is that so? Well, you've come to the right place. Most everyone in Japan is related to the Imperial Family in some way. There must be thousands of princes running around."

"A Jurai Prince." Ryoko specified.

"A Jurai prince, you say? Hmm..." Katsuhito nodded thoughtfully as he tried to determine which Jurai prince Ryoko was looking for.

"Well, Tenchi should be down in the house. In fact, when you see him, tell him not to forget about practice today, would you?"

"Who's Tenchi?"

Katsuhito's grin disappeared. That was not normal. In fact, it was downright scary. For Ryoko to deny even knowing Tenchi, something drastic must have happened. Looking a litle closer, he noticed that Ryoko seemed less emotional than was normal, although she was staring at him fairly intently. Looking into her eyes, he was struck once again by the resemblance of her golden irises to his former love interest from the academy, Airi. The memory sparked a moment of recognition. The last time he had made that comparison had been during a brief communication seven hundred years ago. That encounter had resulted in a great deal of destruction and Ryoko's seven-hundred-year imprisonment. Understanding that he was in a very precarious situation, Katsuhito decided his best defense was to continue playing the old shinto priest.

"Perhaps if you told me exactly who it is you're looking for I could point you in the right direction?"

"His name is..." Ryoko seemed to look up, as if she were remembering something. "...Yosho."

"Well, then, I'm afraid you're out of luck. You see, that man ceased to be many hundreds of years ago."

Slowly, as if it required a great effort, Ryoko's lips pulled up into a menacing smile.

"Really? Then where's his sword?"

Now Katsuhito knew what Ryoko was really after. It was her gems that he had placed within the Tenchi-ken. His grandson needed to be warned about the danger.

"According to legends, Yosho imprisoned a demon in the cave just across the shrine grounds by sealing its power into his sword. The sword was then used to keep it sealed. If the legend is true, then it should be in there. But, old spirits disliked being disturbed. I would let Yosho rest in peace, if I were you."

Ryoko paid his warning no mind. She simply teleported out of the shrine without a word. Katsuhito leapt to his feet and ran from the shrine as fast as his legs could carry him. He would have only a few minutes while Ryoko explored the cave where he had imprisoned her seven hundred years ago. When she found it to be empty, she would likely be very angry at having been duped by an old man. Even worse, the gems she wanted were still locked in the sword Tenchi sometimes carried around with him. Something had to be done, and quickly.

Ryoko found the cave easily enough. But as she walked through the unlocked metal grate into the first chamber, she felt something was wrong. No, she knew something was wrong. She had memories of this place.

"Weird."

She could see images in her mind of things that could not have happened. She had only just arrived here. That prince had taken her gems, then forced Ryo-o-ki to crash into the planet. With her ship destroyed, she was trapped here until Ryo-o-ki reproduced itself. Kagato would be angry at her if she did not recover the gems. That alone was incentive enough to get them back. But even more, she wanted to defeat that prince. Not only was he a supreme warrior, but he had caused her pain. She owed him for that.

Stranger still, her sole remaining gem seemed to have changed places from her neck to her wrist of it's own will. Ryoko often sensed the gems had a will of their own. But they had never done anything like that before. Well, the placing was irrelevant. One gem was one gem. It was enough to give her more power than any Jurai ship. But the prince, she was going to have to be careful when she found him. His sword technique was exemplary. She knew better than to fight a losing battle. And with the Light-Hawk Wings at his disposal, she could not use long range energy attacks, either. She was going to have to be inventive.

"Damn. I hate getting inventive."

But still, something did not add up. The old man had said Yosho had died a long time ago. If that were true, then why was she only awakening now? Had she been that badly injured in the crash? It seemed unlikely that she would require that long to regenerate any amount of damage done, no matter how severe. Perhaps imprisonment...

"Ah!"

That made sense to Ryoko. The old man had also said Yosho had imprisoned a demon in this cave. The "demon" must have been her.

As she investigated the rock-strewn cave for clues to the whereabouts of Yosho's sword, she found a small doll-sized house in the style of the local inhabitants. Ryoko knew from her past experiences and the meager training her master had given her that such places were often used to house relics of religious significance. Ryoko quickly opened the small doors and looked inside the dark interior. There was nothing inside except the top of the rock that the small shrine was perched upon. Disappointed, but still suspicious, Ryoko stuck her hand inside and began feeling around for anything unusual.

"Maybe in the back..."

Her fingers found a small slot in the top of the rock.

"Ah... there was something here, after all." By the shape and size of the slot Ryoko felt under her fingertips, it had likely been medium-sized bladed weapon of some kind. But Yosho's light-sword had a blade of energy, not metal. It was not a jackpot, but lesser prizes could be just as valuable to the right person.

Withdrawing her hand, Ryoko looked around again. Her eyes fell upon a large stone that was bound by some sort of cloth. As she moved closer to investigate, she noticed that the rock was cracked down the middle. The cloth was obviously holding the two pieces together. Reaching down, Ryoko tore the cloth from the stone. The two halves fell away from each other with a clatter of stone on stone. Ryoko stared at the stone halves for a few seconds until the stone wall before her suddenly began to grate apart. A surge of excitement rushed through her veins. She enjoyed solving puzzles. It gave her a sense of accomplishment that she never felt by just running her master's errands.

Just knowing that the door was there before her was enough. Ryoko had no need to wait for it to open fully. She teleported across the threshold and then floated swiftly down the patterned tunnel in search of what she sought. Before long she came to a large chamber with a central pool. A shiver suddenly ran up Ryoko's spine. The air was not particularly cold, but this place still made her shiver. Fascinated, but wary none-the-less, Ryoko thought that maybe this feeling was what humans called "the creeps". She certainly felt out of sorts. But she did not normally feel such things. A sense of dread was not efficient for that man's tool. A low growl began to rattle in Ryoko's throat as she flew a quick circuit of the room.

"I ain't afraid a nothin'!"

It did not help the feeling of dread. But she did find something lying next to the vacant pool of water. Looking down, she realized it was a red mask. Curious, Ryoko took to her feet so she could kneel down and pick it up for a closer examination. As soon as her fingers touch the wooden mask, a boy's face flashed through her mind. Ryoko gasped aloud in open-eyed surprise at the strange vision. Ryoko's lips moved as if her master were directly controlling her body.

"Ten... chi..."

Other faces began to fill her mind's eye. People she had seen, but did not remember. All but two were unknown to her. One was the princess from Jurai; the little one who's garden she had destroyed in the battle. But... she was older now; almost fully grown. The other was that old man from the shrine. With a grunt of recognition, Ryoko realized what was going on. That old man knew all about this place. He had sent her here on purpose, probably to seal her back in. A trap! A sudden weight of raw and irrational fear assailed Ryoko as she realized she had been tricked into reentering her own prison chamber. Expecting she was going to have to force her way out through some sort of confinement field, Ryoko gathered her energy for a full-power attack.

"Is everybody okay?" Tenchi shouted, looking around. He and Aeka were fine, as she had protected them within the confines of her shield. Sasami was equally safe between the two pillar-like guardians, Azaka and Kamidake, who had materialized just in time to protect her with another shield. Mihoshi was dripping wet due to her submarinous explorations in the lake. But as for the house... it had not fared so well. The front was completely missing, and the remaining portion looked none too steady. Even Washu's lab door seemed a little dingier.

"Lord Tenchi, perhaps we should not be standing here. It doesn't look very safe."

"Yeah, I noticed that, Aeka. Thanks." Tenchi sarcastically responded.

"I'm sorry." Aeka hung her head.

"Has anybody seen Ryoko?"

The girls all shook their heads.

"Tenchi!"

Everyone looked toward the source of the shout. Tenchi's grandfather had just arrived at the ruins of the house, and appeared uncharacteristically out of breath.

"Grandpa! Have you seen Ryoko?"

"Indeed I have. Is there something you want to tell me? Like perhaps why she seems so interested in a certain Jurai prince and her missing gems?"

"Uh, heh-heh. Um..."

"Time enough for that later. I sent her on a wild goose chase. That should give us a few minutes while we find a safer place."

Just then an explosion up at the shrine blew rocks and dirt all over the hillside.

"Time's up." Sasami announced, still perfectly composed.

"Miss Mihoshi, would you get Washu's door, please?" Katsuhito politely asked of the detective, despite the nearing danger.

"Right away!" Mihoshi took a running step towards the door that led to Washu's lab. She quickly found a piece of broken timber with her foot and fell flat on her face.

Something streaked up into the sky from the hillside where the Masaki family shrine was located. While the object was too small to see, it left a visible vapor trail as it ascended.

"Mihoshi!" Tenchi leaped over the fallen beams and other debris in his haste to assist Mihoshi. Helping her up with one hand, he grasped the handle to Washu's door and pulled. For once it was unlocked and opened easily.

"Come on! Everybody inside!"

The others piled in through the door, jumping and hopping over obstacles as they went. Tenchi thought Sasami looked entirely too entertained as she passed him to enter Washu's lab. Taking one last look into the sky as Mihoshi followed the others in, Tenchi saw Ryoko streaking through the sky on a collision course with him. Although he felt bad about having to shut her out when she needed help, he had the safety of the others to think about. Reluctantly, Tenchi crossed the threshold and then quickly shut the door behind him. A second later, something slammed into the door hard enough to make it shake.

"Tenchi," Mihoshi asked, "you don't suppose she tried to go through the door, do you?"

"Probably." Tenchi sighed.

"What the Hell?" Ryoko groaned as she slid down the face of Washu's impenetrable red door.

"All right." Tenchi sighed regretfully over this latest incident. "Well, does anybody see Washu?"

The group of people began looking around the dim interior of Washu's lab in hopes of quickly locating the self-proclaimed genius scientist. After a few minutes with no results, Aeka came upon the floating cushion-chair that Washu frequently sat upon while working. On the seat was a note. Curious, Aeka picked-up the hand-written note and began to read.

"Gone Fishing. Back for dinner. Washu-chan."

"Lord Tenchi!" Aeka shouted as she ran in the direction she had last seen Tench going in. Tenchi immediately came running. They met a short distance from the entry door.

"What? Did you find Washu?"

"Um, sort of. It seems she's taken the day off."

"Oh, that's just great." Tenchi sarcastically commented on Washu's latest interdimensional trip. "She's almost as bad as Grandpa."

"I heard that." Katsuhito's gruff voice emanated from just behind him. Aeka stifled a giggle as Tenchi cringed.

"Tenchi," the priest continued, "perhaps you and the others should go looking for Miss Washu."

"In here? But this place is a maze!"

"Then you had best get started right away."

"Yes, Grandpa." But as Tenchi began to walk away with Aeka in tow, his elder called him back.

"And Tenchi, before you go..."

Looking over his shoulder, Tenchi saw that Katsuhito was holding out his hand as if he were expecting Tenchi to give him something.

"Don't you think someone should stay behind and wait here for little Washu?"

"I guess so."

"And you wouldn't want an old man like me to be defenseless in case Ryoko finds a way in, would you?"

Although Tenchi hardly considered his grandfather to be helpless whether he was armed or not, he could see the reasoning behind was the old man was saying.

"Yeah, good point, there." Reaching under his shirt, Tenchi retrieved the Master Key from his belt and dropped it into his grandfather's hand.

"Thank you, Tenchi." Katsuhito raised his left arm and melodramtically sobbed into his sleeve. "You take such good care of your poor old grandfather!"

"Er... okay, okay." Tenchi stared at his grandfather as if he were a space alien, which, of course, was totally true.

"Lord Tenchi," Aeka suggested, "perhaps we should gather the others and begin searching for Miss Washu?"

"Yeah." Tenchi purposefully turned from his grandfather so that he could no longer witness the highly unusual spectacle of Lord Katsuhito crying into his sleeve. "Let's go."

As Tenchi led Aeka away, Katsuhito stopped the crazy old man act. He had successfully distracted Tenchi enough so that he did not think twice about giving up the sword. It was not the possibility of Ryoko getting in that Katsuhito was worried about. Rather, he was worried about her locating the First Generation Royal Tree Funaho.

Mihoshi slowly puttered around Washu's immense lab grounds searching for the vacationing scientist. On more than one occasion, she had gotten lost in or around the enormous facility that her friend kept in the Masaki's broom closet. That seemed to be the case again. She had already exited the lab proper and was now walking around on green grass under a blue sky with lots of sun and palm trees. She could even hear waves breaking on a beach.

"Well... Washu's note did say she went fishing. Maybe she's on the beach."

With that destination in mind, Mihoshi began trying to make her way towards the sound of waves.

When Tenchi and Aeka returned to where they had found Washu's floating chair and note, they discovered Sasami sitting on the scientist's perch, staring at a holographic display. She was sitting cross-legged with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. Her stare had a slightly menacing look to it.

"Sasami?" Aeka called to her sister. But the blue-haired girl made no response.

"Sasami!" Aeka called again. This time the girl turned her head to look at the elder princess.

"Oh! Aeka. Um..."

"When did you learn how to use one of those?"

Still convinced that she was a goddess masquarading as a young girl, Sasami laughed thinly.

"Ha-ha-ha! Ah... Well... We have things like this on Jurai, and I was thinking that maybe we could use this computer to help us find Washu."

"Hey! That's a pretty good idea, Sasami." Tenchi praised Sasami on her ingenuity. "You seem to know what you're doing. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Lord Tenchi! Who knows what kind of dangerous... things... Miss Washu might have in there?"

"It should be okay as long as we don't try to get into anything that sounds bad."

"Yup." Sasami nodded in agreement. "But..."

"But what?"

"Well... it's asking for a password."

"Oh. What do you think it might be?"

"Something personal, I bet."

As Aeka drew closer to the screen to see what she could add to the process, something popped into mind.

"Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe."

Tenchi and Sasami both laughed.

"Well, that is personal. But it won't fit in the space."

Looking closer, Aeka could see the small space that Sasami was referring to.

"Something shorter, then."

"Maybe just genius." Tenchi suggested. "That would fit."

"All right! Let's try it." Sasami poked at a couple places on the keyboard, then, with a flourish, she stabbed the submit button. There was a brief pause, then a geyser of flourescent pink paint sprayed from the display, drenching all three of them to the skin. A small image of Washu's cute little face bounced around the screen while giving them the raspberry. Frustrated beyond capacity, all three of them shouted to the heavens.

"Washu!"

"I made it!" Mihoshi shouted in congratulations for having reached her objective. She was standing at the end of a small pier with a motor boat moored in the water below. It really was a nice scene, too, with all the water and waves. The sun was getting lower in the sky, apparently in time with the Earth.

"It must be getting close to dinner time. We'd better find Washu fast, or she might miss dinner!"

Standing on her tip-toes at the end of the pier, Mihoshi shaded her eyes so she could see as far across the water as possible.

"Washu, please come home!"

In her enthusiasm to have Washu hear her call, Mihoshi leaned a little too far out. Her arms pin-wheeled around as she lost her balance and fell into the boat below. As was her kind of luck, or unluck depending on how one looked at it, her elbow struck the engine controls on her way down. The out-board motor roared to life, and the boat sped away from the pier with Mihoshi inside.

"Oh, my God! I don't know how to drive this! I-i-i-y-a-a-a-a!"

Ryoko angrily glared at the shiny red door that stood freely next to what was left of the residence she had destroyed. For the life of her she could not understand how this door could still be standing when the rest of the house was nothing but rubble. She had tried blasting, cutting, smashing, and even yelling at it. But nothing worked, no metter how much energy she put into it. The situation was vexing to say the least. Ryoko grumbled aloud as she tried drilling a hole in it just by staring hard.

"Damn cowards, running away from me like that. Damn stupid door."

The door, for its part, stood impassively before her, a symbol of her inability to complete her mission. Even worse, she kept getting the feeling that she should be allowed in. This door was not supposed to be closed to her. Whatever or who ever it was that kept this door was not supposed to lock her out.

"Damn red door..."

Another image flashed through Ryoko's mind; a short girl with green eyes and red hair that matched the color of this door.

"You!" She growled aloud. "You locked me out!"

Ryoko took a mighty swing at the door. The impact resounded across the lake that stood in front of the wrecked house. But the door would not give, even to her amazing strength. Ryoko suddenly felt an intense sensation of abandonment and loneliness. There was no one around. She was a social creature at heart. Without the emotions of those around her, she always began to feel a strong need for some sort of interaction. But in her experience, there was only one thing that ever satisfied her need. Creating anger, hatred, and terror never failed to fill her with feelings. Desperate to replace the alien and terrifying emotions she was feeling with something familiar, Ryoko screamed incoherently at the impenetrable door. Her paniced rage had no effect on the impartial divider that kept her from her quarry and objective. She was alone again. This time, not even Ryo-o-ki was around. Something snapped. Ryoko took to the skies as energy arced and crackled around her. At a distance of nearly a kilometer above ground, she stopped to focus her frightening powers into another much more powerful energy strike. There would be no holding back this time. It was her or the door. One way or the other, something was going to give. The strike was rather automatic, actually. She just powered-up and let fly. Travel time for the ball of energy was perceptible, but less than the space of a breath. The valley lit-up with orange light. Her ravenous energies tore through trees and grass, vaporizing water, and scorching rocks to the point where they exploded in showers of heated fragments.

Suddenly, off on one side of the lake, a bright white light caught Ryoko's attention. She stared as a globe of white stood unaffected on the edge of the lake. As the energy of her attack dissipated, so did the white globe. Standing in the water at the edge of the lake was a huge, yet somehow familiar tree. Ryoko almost smiled at the sight of it. She reached up to wipe something from her face. Her hand came away wet.

"Was I... crying?"

No matter. Ryoko wiped her hand and the wetness on the thigh of her red and black combat suit. She would not be alone for much longer.

An old man sat on the blank floor of Washu's lab. At least, that was what Katsuhito wished to think. But even though he appeared as a greying shinto priest of about sixty years, those who lived in his family's home knew him to be well over seven hundred. This miracle was possible only with the assistance of a Royal Tree of Jurai. That was not to say that the alternative bio-enhancement techniques available through other means were not effective. But the protection given by the space-trees was more effective, more complete, and safer. The trees were more effective in that they were self-aware and conscious of what is going on around the person they protect. Self-aware and conscious meant they were alive in Katsuhito's book. Anyone who had ever spoken with a Royal Tree knew that to be a fact. Because of this, this old man felt it would be wrong to allow his tree to be destroyed just to save his own skin. Eventually, Ryoko would find his tree. There was no way she could miss it. Not only did it stick out like a sore thumb because of it's immense size, but Ryoko had seen it when they had fought seven hundred years ago.

Katsuhito looked up into the blackness of the lab ceiling. There. Funaho was reacting to protect itself. It was a purely defensive effort. His tree relayed to him that the attack had not been intentionally set against it. But the effect was the same. Ryoko had released enough energy to damage Funaho. So, it had protected itself. There was still a chance Ryoko had not noticed. The priest waited on the floor for a few moments more, hoping. But soon the expected call came.

"She's attacking."

With a sigh, the Crown Prince of Jurai stood to his feet. It seemed that no matter how far he ran, or how long he waited, Yosho's decisions always came back to haunt him.

Keeping in mind that Washu's note said she was fishing, Tenchi and Aeka went in search of a body of water. Strangely enough, Washu's lab seemed to open up on a planet somewhere. It appeared to be late afternoon or early evening, for the yellow sun was low in the bright clear sky, which was beginning to turn a faint shade of yellow. Emerging from the dark lab onto a mountain road far above a small bay that opened to a small sea or large lake, Tenchi and Aeka looked around in surprise at the pleasant environment. To the left, the paved but poorly maintained road wandered up the hillside. To the right it descended a bit before turning back in a sharp dog-leg turn before continuing towards the bay. The thick green vegetation that covered the hillside prevented seeing the inner shore of the bay from this location. However, at the end of the dog-leg, there was a pull-off area where the trees and scrub had been cut, allowing one to see straight down the hill. There also seemed to be some sort of stereoscopic telescope device similar to those on the observation deck of Tokyo Tower.

"My. What a pleasant area." Aeka remarked, takinig a deep breath of the ocean air. "It almost reminds me of home."

"Home as in Jurai?" Tenchi asked.

"Almost. The trees on Jurai are much larger. Perhaps we should follow the road. Miss Washu's letter said she went fishing, and this road seems to go to the water."

"Yeah." Tenchi readily agreed, seeing the logic in Aeka's suggestion. "At the least, we should be able to get a better view from that overlook, there."

"Let's go." Aeka prompted as she began to walk the rough surface. Tenchi quickly caught up and they walked the quarter-mile or so to the scenic overlook together in silence. They were careful to pay attention to their footing while descending. The road was in rought shape, with deep pot-holes, wide cracks, and large chunks of loose pavement. It looked as if it had been abandoned for years.

"Rough road." Tenchi observed aloud.

"It certainly is." Aeka agreed. "I wonder why it's in such poor - Aah!"

Aeka cried out in fright as the slab of pavement she had just set her foot on tilted over under her weight. Tenchi grabbed Aeka's arm just in time to keep her from a painful fall into the road-side drainage ditch.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes." Aeka answered breathlessly as she clung to Tenchi. "Thank you."

For a moment, Aeka stood still while she was calming herself. But when she looked up at Tenchi, she saw that he was looking very concerned for her. They both blushed. Aeka did not immediately release Tenchi's arm. She liked the feel of his well-toned muscles.

"I'm sorry." She said, finally letting go while looking away.

Tenchi reached up to scratch at the back of his head in a typical nervous action.

"Maybe we should move away from the edge of the road."

"But what if a vehicle comes along?"

"This road's so bad, I don't think anyone would be crazy enough to try. But..." Tenchi hesitated as he tried to make himself say what he had in mind. Aeka had already nearly fallen once. If she tripped and fell for real, he knew he would feel really bad.

"We should... stay close. That way we can help each other if one of us trips again."

Aeka almost broke into a huge grin. It took tremendous strength of will for her to keep a straight face.

"All right." She agreed, not moving.

When Aeka made no move, Tenchi reached out and took her hand. After a shy moment, Aeka's fingers intertwined with his.

"Let's go." Tenchi said, taking a large step down the sloping road. Behind him and just out of his direct sight, Aeka finally smiled as she followed along.

Their shyness quickly faded as they descended the road to the scenic overlook. By the time they arrived at the telescopic viewer they were smiling and chatting easily, their troubles nearly forgotten. When they reached the thick wooden rails that kept viewers from falling off the edge of the overlook, they looked around the area searching for any sign of Washu. Down and to the left, they could now see the near side of the bay's shore-line. There was a small wooden dock with a motor boat bobbing gently alongside it. But there was no sign of the short red-head they were looking for.

Tenchi released Aeka's hand in favor of the wooden railing. He set his forearms on the horizontal pole and stared out across the water towards the mouth of the bay. He had surprised himself by taking Aeka's hand like that. But some sudden urge to demonstrate his concern for her had taken him. And frankly, he was tired of the games and of pretending he felt the same for all the girls. It wasn't true, of course. But making the choice was not something he would do lightly. Occasionally, when he found himself alone with one of the girls, like now, he would let some of his feelings show. That was easiest with Aeka. She was the closest to normal of the four he considered as possibilities. She didn't tie him up and demand samples like Washu. She wasn't clumsy or accident prone like Mihoshi, and she didn't tease him like Ryoko. Aeka's values seemed to be the closest to his own, and she had already demonstrated an inclination to remain with him on Earth, rather than insisting on taking him off-planet. However, she had family on Jurai who could be a problem if they wanted to be. On the negative side, he just couldn't tell how Aeka felt about him. But, now that Tenchi was thinking about it, he realized he had the same problem with all the girls. He really wasn't sure how any of them truly felt about him. Even more, he didn't want to disrupt the family-like environment.

"Lord Tenchi?"

Tenchi looked left to see Aeka looking at him with an expression of concern.

"Is something wrong?"

Tenchi smiled, trying to put Aeka at ease.

"No. I just drifted off for a second, that's all."

As Aeka was just to his left, and the docked boat was also in that direction, Tenchi was in the perfect position to see Mihoshi walk out on the dock.

"Hey. Isn't that Mihoshi?"

Aeka stepped up to the rail and looked in the same direction. She also saw a blond female standing on the end of the dock.

"I believe it is."

Tenchi was just about to call out to the young woman when he saw Mihoshi tumble head-first into the empty boat. He was not at all surprised when the boat suddenly came alive and made for the mouth of the bay with a wailing Mihoshi on board.

"Oh, boy..."

Screeching in fright, Mihoshi clutched at the round steering wheel as the boat careened across the water on a direct course for the open sea. White-knuckled, she tried to steer the small vessel back to the dock. But the wheel suddenly came off in her hands.

"This isn't working!"

Mihoshi tossed the useless wheel aside. There were a couple of other controls that she could not guess. But the large black hand lever next to her was clearly the speed control. There was one just like it aboard Yukinojo. She quickly grabbed the handle and pulled it all the way back. The boat immediately screamed in protest as it was told to go from full power forward to full reverse in less than a second. The force of the deceleration flung Mihoshi over the dash and into the air.

The screaming blond missile went up and out for a long flight. Gravity finally took hold and began pulling her back to the water. But before she impacted with the water's surface, an immense fish or whale (Mihoshi wasn't sure which, for it was a decidedly odd-looking aquatic creature with many fins and lots of sharp teeth) leapt from the water right in front of her, it's cavernous mouth yawning wide open for her.

"Somebody help me-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!"

Chomp!

"Mihoshi!" Tenchi cried aloud when a gigantic water-creature leapt up and snapped Mihoshi out of the air.

"Good Lord! What was that thing?"

Tenchi snatched Aeka's hand again. But this time he nearly dragged her down the torn-up road in his haste to get in a position to help Mihoshi. What he could do to actually make a difference in this predicament was anybody's guess. But if he kept up his pace, one of them, either himself or Aeka, was going to take a nasty spill.

"Lord Tenchi, please slow down!"

"I can't! Mihoshi needs our help!"

Mihoshi awoke to find herself up to her neck in a barrel full of salt water. The air stank with an acrid burning odor that made her throat itch. Even worse, the barrel that she was in was set on a small wooden raft that was floating in a lake within a wet, dimly lit cavern of some kind. Standing up out of the barrel to get a better look at things, Mihoshi suddenly noticed that realized she had no clothes on. She quickly crouched back down.

"What happened to my clothes?"

"I can answer that."

Mihoshi turned around in the barrel to see Washu sitting on a stool next to her barrel with a fishing rod in her hands. A red and white bobber floated on the surface of the nasty-looking water a little ways out in front of her.

"Miss Washu!" Mihoshi's eyes started to water with joy at finally finding the short-statured scientist.

"Hiya! In answer to your question, we're in the stomach of a whale. Seeing as this is a whale's stomach, there is stomach acid. So, since you came in the hard way and got drenched with stomach acid, I had to douse you with a base liquid to neutralize the acid. The acid and base liquids reacted chemically to form salt water!"

"Um... okay. Where are my clothes again?"

Reaching down to grab something, Washu grasped what was left of Mihoshi's service uniform and held the acid-eaten garment up where it's owner could see it. Mihoshi stared at the bleached and dryed material in shock as it literally crumbled to powder.

"Oh, no! Now what'll I wear?"

"I think a better question would be why are you here?"

"Um, I guess becaue I got eaten by a whale."

Washu rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I gathered that. But what events led up to you being eaten?"

"Hey! Does this mean you were eaten, too?"

Washu groaned. As always, getting specific answers out of Mihoshi was no easy task.

"I don't suppose you're here because of the seismic disturbance that ocurred earlier?"

"The whatsis?"

"Earthquake." Washu patiently translated to laymen's terms.

"Oh, no." Mihoshi waved off the idea. "That wasn't an earthquake. That was an explosion."

Mihoshi's face suddenly lit up as she remembered something important.

"Oh! That reminds me. I found this really cool medallion that I once used to hypnotize my partner --"

Washu nodded and grunted acknoledgements periodically as Mihoshi recounted every last detail of the girls' escapade with hypnosis earlier in the day. She even chuckled as Mihoshi described Aeka's over-blown impressions of Nobuyuki and Ryoko. But when she got the part about hypnotizing Ryoko...

"...and then I used it to hypnotize Ryoko.

Washu grabbed Mihohshi by the nose.

"You did what?!"

"I... I mean, Aeka asked Ryoko about... ow, that kind of hurts..."

Seeing that her grip on Mihoshi's nose was affecting the officer's memory, Washu released Mihoshi.

"Did you regress Ryoko?"

"Redress? But Aeka was the one who took off her clothes."

"Not redress, regress! To make her tell you about the past by making her think she is actually there."

"Oh! Yes, that's what we did."

"Why?"

"Well, Aeka made this really nice speech. She said --"

"Skip the speech. What questions did Aeka ask and how did Ryoko react? Quick version."

"Um, okay. Ah... Aeka asked Ryoko to tell her about the battle with Prince Yosho. When they got to the part where Ryoko was loosing, she started glowing and screaming about killing the prince."

Washu groaned aloud. This wasn't good.

"Then Ryoko blew up the house." Completely forgetting that she still had no clothes on, Mihoshi stood up out of the barrel, extending her arms in the air. "BOOM!"

"We're going back." Washu announced, tossing her fishing rod into the whale's stomach juices. She knelt down to reach into the small bag of supplies she had brought with her in preparation for this trip. Inside there were some snacks and extra lures, and a few other gizmos, including the sample bottle that contained a few of the gigantic (relatively speaking) nematodes that could live within the whale's gut. The flare she was looking for was at the bottom. Mihoshi looked at the flare in wonder.

"What're you going to do with that?"

Lifting one sandaled foot, Washu struck the top of the roadside flare across the bottom of her sandal. The friction caused the flare to burst to life. Nasty thick smoke began to pour from the burning stick of chemicals as she jammed it in a small hole between two of the logs that made up the raft they were floating on.

"They have several legends on Earth about men being swallowed by whales. They have various ways of getting free. Some might work, and some are just ridiculous, like blowing pepper around. I've calculated that using a device that that emits a kind of smoke that upsets the whale's stomach has the best chance of getting us out of here quickly."

"O-o-o-o-h-h-h. You're really smart, Washu!"

"Ha-ha! Don't I know it!"

Miraculously, Tenchi and Aeka made it to the water-side dock without breaking any bones. Aeka rubbed at her sore wrist where Tenchi had been holding tight to help her keep up. It wasn't that she really needed help keeping up. She was perfectly fit enough to run for some distance without assistance. But, she supposed he was just trying to keep her from falling again. It was a nice gesture, even if a little rough.

"Lord Tenchi, I certainly agree with the idea of helping Miss Mihoshi. But what exactly are we supposed to do from here? I don't see another boat."

"I..." Tenchi took a deep breath to steady his breathing. "I don't know. I just thought... you know..."

Aeka felt a surge of warmth at Tenchi's sense of concern. But before she or Tenchi could say anything else, the water near the mouth of the bay erupted, and the giant oceanic creature they had seen eat Mihoshi reappeared. It rolled about violently for several seconds, then it opened it's great maw and vomited. Everything in the beast's stomach was projected up in the air. Noticable in the varied and many objects thrown into the air were an unrecognizable vehicle, a raft, and the objects of their search, Mihoshi and Washu. Looking at the two girls, Tenchi noticed something peculiar about their flight.

"Um, are they getting closer?"

Also looking carefully, Aeka could see that they appeared to be getting larger.

"I believe they are."

Tenchi and Aeka looked at each other with sudden realization as the soaked projectiles quickly approached. They could hear Mihoshi's frightened screams being accompanied by Washu's amused laughter.

"Run!"

Too late. Mihoshi crashed rump-first into Tenchi, flattening him. Washu, with all her grace, made a nice three-point-landing just past Aeka at the other end of the dock. She stood up with her arms up in the air.

"Ta-da!"

Looking up from flat on his back, Tenchi was greeted by the sight of Mihoshi sitting on his chest. Her long legs were extended past his head.

"Oh, Tenchi! Thank you so much for breaking my fall!"

Blood sprayed from Tenchi's nose and his head fell back.

"Lord Tenchi!" Aeka rushed to help Tenchi up. "For God's sake, Mihoshi! Get off of Lord Tenchi! And what happened to your clothes?"

Mihoshi quickly curled up into a ball while shrieking with embarassment.

"EYAAAH! Don't look!"

Eager to remove the source of Tenchi's embarassment/excitement, Aeka gave Mihoshi a swift kick in the head, sending her flying off the dock and into the salt water with a huge splash.

"When a princess commands you to move, you move!"

Turning back to Tenchi, Aeka saw Washu giving Tenchi some sort of examination.

"And what do you think you're doing?"

"Damn, it's too late." Washu mysteriously stated.

"Too late for what?"

"Tenchi's already contracted the plague that wiped out the entire population of this planet."

Aeka's face turned blue as her heart stopped in her chest.

"The rest of us are okay because we have some sort of protection." Washu continued to explain. "GP officers have bio-strengthening, the Royal Family has the space-trees, and I've got my own protection."

Washu grabbed Tenchi by the head and held his face to her bosom like a favorite pet.

"Oh, Tenchi! You're so sweet and noble to sacrifice your life for me!"

"Yes..." Tenchi woozily replied.

Aeka finally regained her facilities for rational speech.

"Miss Washu!"

"It's Little Washu."

"This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Washu dropped Tenchi to the dock. "Who brought Tenchi here?"

Aeka quickly grew less confrontational at the insinuation that she may have placed her beloved Tenchi in danger. But, as that was not actually the case, she was happy to point out exactly who was responsible for this entire misadventure.

"It wasn't I. Miss Mihoshi hypnotized Ryoko and she went insane. Ryoko is your creation, so I demand you do something about it!"

"My, my. What a situation. Fortunately, I already got the ENTIRE story out of Mihoshi."

Aeka cringed at the emphasis Washu placed on the word entire.

"Well, first things first."

"Um... excuse me!" Mihoshi called from where she was peeking over the edge of the dock. "I really hate to bother you, Miss Washu. But, could I get some clothes?"

"Okay!" Washu exclaimed as she sat in her floating chair in front of her holographic computer terminal. The seat squished loudly as she sat in it. Next to her, Sasami was very carefully wiping away thirty-two different colors of non-toxic water-based paints. "First, we'll cure Tenchi using the research data I acquired from the nematodes living in the whale's stomach. Then... Sasami?"

"Yes, Miss Washu?" Sasami reluctantly answered, thinking she may be punished for trying to hack Washu's computer, despite the fact that she is, in her own mind, Tsunami.

"See this?" Washu waved her open hand in Sasami's face.

"Yes?" Almost instantly, Sasami's eyes closed and she fell asleep.

Aeka leapt forward to catch Sasami before she hit the floor.

"What have you done to my sister!?"

"Relax! I just put her to sleep. She should wake up in a couple of hours, good as new."

"Oh. I see. Will she still think she is Tsunami?"

"Nope. Everything should reset after a nice long nap."

Moving quickly through the many and various programs in her computer system, Washu called-up the medical facilities.

"Tenchi, have a seat in that plasmatic infusion chamber."

Not having any clue what Washu meant by a plasmatic infusion chamber, Tenchi just stared at her like she was crazy.

"Uh..."

"That tube lookin' thing behind you."

Turning around, Tenchi saw a large tube-shaped chamber where none had existed a minute before.

"Okay..." He uneasily walked up to the chamber. "I just have to get in and I'll be cured?"

"Yup. Just lay back and let the chamber do the work."

"Where have I heard that before." Tenchi mumbled under his breath as he got into the chamber. As soon as he was reclining inside, a clear cover switched closed over him, completely sealing him inside. The chamber immediately filled with a thick green gas, completely obscuring his form from sight.

"Okay, highness. Let's see what there is to see."

"Are you certain that thing is safe?"

"Sure I'm sure." A mischeivous grin slowly worked it's way to Washu's face. "Unless the flow valve sticks open, in which case Tenchi's body will turn into green jello."

"What!?"

"Just kidding! Actually, it would be red jello."

"Washu!"

Washu started to laugh out loud. But then she saw something on the exterior monitors that made her stop.

"What the..."

"What?" Aeka stood up to see what was being displayed. At first, there was only trees on the display. But then a beam of orange light zipped across the screen, momentarily illuminating a figure she had not seen in seven hundred years.

"Brother... Yosho?"

"Hmm... what's he doing out there?"

"It's perfectly obvious what he's doing! My brother is fighting Ryoko to protect us!"

"There's got to be more to it than that."

"Is there anyone else out there?" Aeka looked around quickly, taking a head count of those present. "Where are Ryo-o-ki and Mihoshi?"

"Right here!"

Aeka's face turned white when she saw Mihoshi step out from behind Tenchi's plasmatic infusion chamber, now fully clothed in her combat uniform.

"Please tell me you didn't touch anything."

Now Washu did laugh.

"I said I was kidding about that! What we really need to worry about is Ryoko. If she finds Ryo-o-ki, things'll get really bad."

Aeka realized that Washu was right. If Ryoko were to find and use Ryo-o-ki to fight, the destruction would be catastrophic. There was a task to accomplish that she could complete. It also gave her an excuse to see her brother as she remembered him; a young man. With only a thought, Aeka's kimono transformed into the battle armor of the Jurai Royal Family.

"Mihoshi, come with me."

"Right!" Mihoshi readily agreed.

"Don't fight Ryoko." Washu instructed them while focusing her attention on her display. "Just find Ryo-o-ki and bring her back here. She shouldn't give you any trouble unless Ryoko sees her. Once she's in here, she can't get out. I'll keep working on a way to subdue Ryoko without hurting her."

Many thoughts were whirling through Aeka's mind. This situation was too much like the events of seven hundred years ago. Yosho was defending his home and family against the Destroyer Ryoko. But this time, her assault was not something they could hold her responsible for. Ryoko was not in her right mind. But that didn't make her any less dangerous. The possibility of someone getting hurt was very strong. But Aeka could not stop thinking about her brother, who was out there right now, fighting to keep Ryoko from them.

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

Tenchi felt great relief when the green gas began to clear, allowing him to see thhrough the clear panel of his capsule once more. He was already looking around, trying to see what was going on, when the panel finally slid open.

"Washu! What's going on?"

"Well, let's see. Sasami's asleep over there." Washu pointed over to a comfortably cushioned couch where Sasami lay, asleep, "Your grandfather, the Crown Prince of Jurai, is fighting Ryoko, Aeka and Mihoshi are outside looking for Ryo-o-ki, and you're cured of the plague! Isn't that great?"

"No! Why are they fighting against Ryoko? This isn't her fault!"

"I never said it was, Tenchi."

"I have to go help." Tenchi turned to the door of Washu lab. Before he could get a single step, Washu grabbed his collar and held on tight.

"Hold on, now. It just so happens that I agree. But we can't have you going out all half-cocked. You gave the Master-Key to Lord Katsuhito, right?"

"Crap!" Tenchi cursed himself for a stupid cow. "Yeah, I did."

"So what exactly were you intending to fight with?"

Now that he was thinking rationally about the situation, Tenchi realized he really had no intention of fighting at all. These people were his friends.

"I'm not going to fight against Ryoko."

"Really? Then what do you have in mind?"

"I have to convince her to stop."

"Tenchi, Ryoko thinks she's back seven hundred years ago, when she and Yosho crashed here. Do you really think she'll listen to you?"

Tenchi was silent as he comtempleted Washu's question.

"She may not even remember that she knows you, or any of us."

"She has to." Tenchi looked at Washu, almost pleading.

"Tell you what." Washu began, but before she could finish telling Tenchi about her plan, they heard a plaintive meow from the couch where Sasami was sleeping. "Ryo-o-ki?"

"Myah?" The small creature was huddled next to Sasami, a concerned look on her furry little face.

"You silly girl! Come to Mommy!" Washu held her arms out for Ryo-o-ki.

With a popping sound, the small creature suddenly changed from cute little creature to adorable little girl. She jumped down from the couch and ran into Washu's outstretched arms.

"Mya!"

"You were here the whole time, weren't you? Why didn't you say something?"

"Mya-myaAh myan."

"Oh, I see. We scared you with all that yelling, didn't we?"

"Washu, I don't mean to be rude, and I'm glad to see Ryo-o-ki, too. But, weren't you about to say something?"

"Yes, I was." Washu was interrupted again when Aeka's face crackled to life on her holo-display. Tenchi sighed at the continued interruptions.

"Miss Washu? Can you here me?"

"Right here, princess."

"Have you seen Miss Mihoshi? That scatter-brain seems to have gotten lost again."

"Well, I haven't heard from Mihoshi, although my sensors indicate she is in the area." Washu smiled to lighten the situation. "But I've got good news!"

An explosion from somewhere nearby caused Aeka to jump in surprise.

"Please! I could use some good news. That woman is behaving very badly."

"I found Ryo-o-ki! She was in the lab the whole time! How about that, eh?"

"What!? This is not the time for jests!"

Seeing Aeka within the confines of Washu's display, Tenchi leaned in to get a better look.

"Aeka, is everything all right?"

"Lord Tenchi! I'm... well. And you?"

"Well, Washu says I'm cured."

"Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried."

Tenchi blushed at Aeka's admission of concern for his welfare. Then, he saw something in the display that boded very badly. It was his father's van trundling along the unpaved road to the house.

"Oh, my God, it's Dad!"

"What?" Aeka quickly looked back to see Nobuyuki's van obviously moving through the trees. "Damn!"

The First Princess of Jurai did not aprove of swearing. But this time it was definitely warranted. Tenchi's father was completely incapable of defending himself from someone like Ryoko if she chose to attack him. Frankly, kidnapping Nobuyuki for a hostage sounded very much like something Ryoko would do. She didn't have to think hard about what to do. Aeka took off.

"Aeka!" Tenchi shouted at the empty display. "Help Dad! I'll be right there!"

Tenchi turned towards the door that led back to what remained of the house and began to run.

"Tenchi, wait!"

"I have to go help Dad!"

Washu watched helplessly as Tenchi threw open the lab door.

"I'll be right behind you!"

Washu shook her head as the young man disappeared through the small portal into the sunset-lit landscape.

"What a mess."

Even before he arrived at the house, energy beams began to strike all around Nobuyuki's van. Dirt and clods of grass spattered against the van's exterior, making it sound like a tank taking fire. Being Tenchi's father, he was familiar with the kinds of events and tricks the girls usually engaged in. But attacking his van wasn't usually one of them. White-knuckled and scared out of his wits, he swerved back and forth, trying to avoid the beams. Suddenly, Aeka appeared right outside his door in full battle-gear.

"Miss Aeka?"

"No time!"

Without the benefit of an explanation, the princess tore the door from it's hinges, then grabbed Nobuyuki by the arm and pulled out of the driver's seat. The van took a direct hit and exploded, sending both of them tumbling off the road into the tree-line.

True to her word, Aeka protected Tenchi's father, even as they fell to the ground. However, when she she and Nobuyuki looked up from the ground and saw Ryoko coming her way at the same time, she was not happy when he pushed her forward and then ran for his life.

"You take care of this!"

"What? How ungrateful!"

Aeka's indignation at Nobuyuki's lack of gratitude costs her vital time. Ryoko was on her before she could get away. The pirate snatched one wrist and spun her around, pinning both her arms behind her back. Ryoko leered into her face.

"Well, look who I found! It's the little princess! Only you're not so little anymore."

Aeka squirmed in Ryoko's unbreakable grip as the woman took a good long look at her.

"Release me at once!"

Ryoko's leering grin got bigger and more frightening by the second as she slid her free hand up Aeka's front to her breast.

"Oh, my, you have grown!"

Aeka's face turned beet red at this uncommon display of vulgarity.

"You disgusting creature! Let me go!"

Ryoko's grip tightened.

"L-let go..."

Aeka can see only Ryoko's sadistic grin.

"Please..."

A hiss of air from her tormentor's lips told of Ryoko's interest in Aeka's distress. Finally, the woman released Aeka's bruised breast. But her fingers quickly moved to Aeka's collar.

"Let's see the rest, shall we?"

Aeka's eyes went wide as she realized that Ryoko intended to strip her naked.

"No!"

Ryoko's serpent-like cackling grew louder as Aeka called for help.

"Lord Tenchi!"

The tension around her throat grew tighter.

"Brother!"

Suddenly, Ryoko's attention was diverted to Aeka's right. She disappeared just in time to avoid Prince Yosho's attack. Aeka fell on her rear when she saw her brother, her true brother, standing before her, sword drawn and ready to fight.

"Are you all right, Aeka?" He asked, looking around.

Aeka stared at him in utter disbelief. Even after seeing his sillouette in Washu's monitor, she had found it difficult to believe. She had gotten used to seeing him as an old man. Yet here he was, his youth restored. Her handsome and gallant brother was returned to her.

"Brother..."

Bursts of energy suddenly flew from the trees towards them. Luckily, Yosho was paying attention to the battle, rather than his sibling. The beams struck his own protective shield, keeping them from harm. However, the beams don't let up. First from one place, then another, and another. Ryoko was moving quickly through the darkening shade, using the trees for cover while attacking from a distance. Angered by the guerilla tactics that Ryoko was using, Aeka got to her feet.

"Ryoko, you coward! Come out and fight!"

Taking Aeka's cue, Yosho held up the Master Key.

"I have your gems in my sword, Ryoko! If you want them, you must take them!"

The assault continued with no response, until, from far off, they heard Tenchi voice calling through the trees.

"Ryoko!"

The beams stopped.

"What does he think he's doing?" Aeka hissed to her older sibling.

"Whatever he thinks, he is distracting her. By the way..." A humorous glint flashed from Yosho's eye. "Do you wish me to examine your wound?"

"My wound?" It took Aeka a second to realize he was pulling her leg. "For God's sake, Yosho! This is not the time for such things!"

"Ryoko!" Tenchi called again, this time from much closer.

Ryoko paused as she listened to the voice that seemed so warm and familiar. Although she had trouble placing the voice, she felt like it belonged to someone she knew. She wasn't foolish enough to show herself. But when Tenchi appeared through the trees, she was instantly mesmerized by the sight of him. Her heart raced and she felt torn by feelings she couldn't understand. Her memories were cloudy, but she felt strongly like she knew him from somewhere, even though that could not be.

When Tenchi saw Aeka, he felt relief. But there was someone else with her that he did not recognize at first. Looking at the man, Tenchi noticed he was wearing the same clothes as his grandfather. Finally recalling that his grandfather is also Prince Yosho, Tenchi then realized that the person with Aeka is his grandfather. Trotting through the trees, Tenchi went to join them.

"Aeka, are you all right?"

"Yes, for the most part."

Tenchi heaved a sigh of relief before looking indecisively at the prince of Jurai.

"Grandpa?"

"I'm sorry for having to deceive everyone. But, it would be difficult to live on this planet if I remained a young man for seven hundred years."

"I guess I see your point."

"Oh, please." Aeka muttered under her breath.

"What was that, Aeka?" Yosho raised an eyebrow.

Ryoko stayed silent in the trees, listening to their banter. Her hearing was good enough that she could easily make out what they're saying to each other. Now she knew the relationship between the boy named Tenchi, whom she has been seeing in her thoughts, and the prince. He is barely more than a boy on the edge of manhood. She decided he is either incredible brave or incredibly stupid for coming out to look for her unarmed. Or, perhaps he was not unarmed. There was only one way to find out. Plus, he might make a useful hostage. The older man had already run off. Ryoko cursed herself for getting distracted. But seeing the princess again had remeinded her of the way Aeka had caused her to laugh out loud, a very rare occurance. She hadn't been able to resist having some fun. Seeing her all grown up was something strange, though. Had she been out of action for that long? What exactly had happened, and why couldn't she remember things right? Teetering on the edge of renewing her assault or holding back, Ryoko waited until a better opportunity presented itself.

"Ouch! Why do trees have to have so many roots? And it's so dark, too. How am I ever going to Ryoko in this?"

A large grin spread across Ryoko's face when she realized that that bumbling GP detective was nearby. She had had no interest in the cop before, so she had avoided her, rather than provoking her. Now, she was well-received. Moving quietly, Ryoko floated up into the air, using the tree branches to conceal her silent advance.

"Blast!" Aeka grumbled aloud. "If I had acted quicker I would have had her!"

"Ryoko is a quick opponent." Yosho advises her. "You had best be on your guard. Tenchi."

"Yes?"

"What exactly are you planning on doing out here with no weapon?"

"I was... hoping Ryoko might listen to me if I tried talking with her."

Aeka heaved a sigh at Tenchi's blissful ignorance of the facts.

"Lord Tenchi, if Ryoko truly believes she is still the same person she was seven hundred years ago, she will not listen to anyone. Not you, not me, not Washu, not anyone."

"Likely the only person she would accept commands from was Kagato." Yosho added, keeping an eye on the surrounding trees. "Now that he's gone..."

"Brother Yosho, has she made any demands, or is she just indiscriminantly destroying things?"

"She wants her gems back."

"Then we should give them to her."

Aeka and Yosho stared at Tenchi in shock.

"They're hers, right?"

"Well... I suppose they are. But..."

"No." Yosho told them. "Under no circumstances must Ryoko regain these gems. With all three..."

Tenchi was amazed to see his normally stalid grandfather, even if he was looking rather healthy this evening, with such a grim expression on his face.

"I remember she tried to take them when we first met, but..."

"Tenchi, with these three gems and Ryo-o-ki, Ryoko could crush Jurai in a day."

"No way..."

The sound of Mihoshi screeching from a short distance away, followed by the sound of her blaster discharging, alerted them to her likely encounter with Ryoko.

"Mihoshi!" Tenchi began running towards where the voice had come from. But before he could get more than a few meters, Ryoko came floating through the trees holding Mihoshi in front of her in a painful-looking arm-lock.

"I'm really, really, really, really, really, sorry, Ryoko! I didn't mean to shoot at you, honest!

"Shut up."

Ryoko stared at the young man for a few seconds, calculating and assessing him. He didn't look like much. He had a decent build, but that didn't mean much in an era when bio-enhancement was the norm. She was surprised when he tried talking with her.

"Ryoko, please stop this!"

"Tell the prince to give me my gems, and I'll leave."

"But why? Why do you want to leave?"

"None of your business. Now cough 'em up."

Ryoko gave Mihoshi's arm a twist, making the officer screech in pain again.

"Or this one will need replacement parts."

Looking at Mihoshi again, Tenchi saw that she was about to burst into tears. Her lips were quivering and little droplets of moisture were gathering in her eyes. She was trying really hard to be brave. He had an idea, but he wanted to get Mihoshi away from Ryoko, first.

"Let Mihoshi go, and I'll give you want you want.

"You don't listen too well." Ryoko cocked her head to the side as she considered what kind of display might convince this person and his grandfather that she meant business.

"You know, I can rip her arms and legs off. She won't even bleed to death if I burn the arteries closed."

Mihoshi's eyes went wide for a split second before she swooned in Ryoko's arms. The graphic description of her imminent dismemberment was too much for her mind to handle. Ryoko hissed at the woman's lack of intestinal fortitude.

"Ryoko... how can you say such a horrible thing?"

"It's not hard." Ryoko grinned widely. "Once you're used to it."

Looking into Ryoko's eyes, Tenchi could see nothing of the fun-loving and mischeivous Ryoko. He saw only a terrible sadistic destroyer that enjoyed the emotional turmoil she inflicting on others.

"Don't you remember how much fun you had with us? All the games, and trips, and... and... the sake! Remember? You love sake!"

For just a fraction of a second, Ryoko thought she remembered a feeling like that. She certainly remembered sake. Getting drunk was one of her favorite pass-times. Not that she had much time to pass. This blonde girl, the others, she had a feeling about them. It felt like something was wrong with this. If it had just been her, she might of stopped just to see what this boy, this Tenchi, meant. She couldn't remember anything specific. It was just a feeling. But up there somewhere was the man who pulled the strings. She had tried running away a couple of times. He always found her. It was no good. But this Tenchi... he made her feelings swell so much she wasn't sure what was right or normal. As Ryoko grew more and more uncertain, she shook her head to clear herself of the abnormal feelings.

"No! You... can't know that! I've never been here before! I don't know you, and..." Ryoko's resolve firmed as she recalled what would happen if she disobeyed her master. "You don't know me."

"Ryoko..." Tenchi looked sadly up at Ryoko as spun Mihoshi upside-down and grasped both her ankles.

"Gimme my gems or I'll rip this little bitch in half!"

A sudden gust of wind blew by Tenchi, quickly followed by another.

Aeka could wait no longer. Tenchi's talking was not working. She had given him a chance to do it his way. Now she had no choice but to act. Hopefully she could at least save Mihoshi.

Yosho hated this feeling of helplessness. On Jurai, he had always felt helpless to change things. Other people were always trying to control his life. The opportunity to escape from Jurai had been to good to pass up. All he had to do was chase after a vicious pirate. But even that was something beyond his control. Ryoko was more than just a pirate. It was hard to believe that Washu was not doing something about this. If everyone else was here, then they must have found the strange super-genius. He firmly believed that she would not allow Ryoko be killed, or to kill another in this household. It was only a matter of figuring out how to diffuse the situation. Attacking Ryoko was the last thing he wanted. Her power was far beyond anything he was capable of without Funaho to back him up. That and his skill with the sword were what had allowed him to defeat her seven hundred years ago. So, when Aeka suddenly launched herself at Ryoko, Yosho had no choice but to try and protect his sister. There was no way she could stand up to the Ryoko of seven hundred years ago. That Ryoko wouldn't hesitate to kill if it was necessary.

"Damn!" Yosho launched himself into the air after Aeka.

Ryoko felt glad when the not-so-little princess attacked. Now she had a clear opponent she could cut loose on without without having to think or feel. Even when Aeka's brother also came at her, she felt no concern. She was prepared for it. Ryoko even smiled. They were so considerate to come at her from the same direction. They couldn't harm her if she was ready to counter the attack. Some of her powers required a bit of physical direction to aim or hold in place, like energy beams or her sword. But some did not. When Aeka's glowering face was nearly upon her, Ryoko lashed out with pure kinetic energy. The princess disappeared into the trees.

Yosho's grimaced when Ryoko blasted Aeka through the trees. He had seen the look of sadistic pleasure on Ryoko's face as she counter-attacked. That look was turned to him, now. Just as he swung at Ryoko's left wrist, she struck. The blast took him full in the front. Yosho's body spasmed, and the Master Key fell from his hand as he followed Aeka through the forest.

"Stop it!" Tenchi yelled out loud as the situation quickly degenerated back to violence. Just for a moment, he had thought that maybe the Ryoko he knew was still there. She had looked like she was wavering. But Aeka's attack had put an end to Ryoko's indecision. She was back in control.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, that felt good!" Ryoko looked down on Tenchi with pleasure. It had felt great to blast those two. Now all she needed to make her day complete was to get her gems back.

Just then, something hard and heavy struck Ryoko on top of the head.

"Ow!"

To both personss surprise, they saw the Master Key drop to the ground right at Ryoko's feet. The floating girl rubbed her head with one hand while still holding Mihoshi up by one foot.

Looking down to see what had hit her, Ryoko was astonished to see the very object that held her gems laying just under her feet.

"Well, how about that?" She tossed Mihoshi aside without a second thought. Dropping to the ground, she reached out to take the sword.

"Um..." Tenchi's good nature almost cause him to remind Ryoko that she shouldn't touch the sword. But then he remembered that if she really did believe that it was seven hundred years ago, she might not remember that it would knock her on her rear. Tenchi remembered that Washu had said she would be right behind him. He said a silent prayer, hoping she was ready and waiting.

Ryoko grabbed the sword and stood up triumphantly.

"Ha!"

Lightning erupted from the Master Key, engulfing Ryoko in blue-white light. She screeched as the sudden surge turned her muscles to rubber. The sword fell to the ground, at the same time she did. A second later, something bit her on the rear. Ryoko jumped up to her feet again.

"Damn it! What the Hell?"

Twisting around to see what the deal was, Ryoko saw a small red-feathered dart sticking out of her right buttock. She reached down and plucked the offending object from her cheek and held it up were she could see it better.

"That's quite enough of that, I think."

Ryoko looked to her right to see the short red-head from her visions walking towards her with a stern expression on her face and an old-fashioned bamboo blow-gun over her shoulder.

"You! I'm gonna..." Suddenly Ryoko's vision swam. Her stomach started to writhe, and her balance quickly went hay-wire. "I'm..."

She stared at the dart to focus and maintain her balance. But it was no use. Whatever that girl had just shot her up with, it was very effective. Unable to stand any longer, Ryoko fell over again. She looked up, confused and afraid. This had never happened before, at least as far as she could remember. She couldn't move anymore. Her vision began to collapse into a dark tunnel. The last thing she saw was that boy, kneeling over her with a concerned expression on his face. Suddenly, his name came to her again.

"Tenchi..." Ryoko managed to whisper before succumbing to darkness.

END.

* * *

  


AFTERWORD: I guess there'll be another chapter, after all. This one's getting kind of long. Next chapter: the conclusion of Hypnosis for Idiots, Obscuring Mist.


	3. Obscuring Mist

Hypnosis For Idiots, Part Three: Obscuring Mist 

DISCLAIMER: Tenchi Muyo! is copyright AIC/Pioneer, LDC. I claim no rights to it. However, this story is entirely of my own imagination. Please, no plagiarism or altering without permission from the author, me.

FOREWORD: This is definitely the last chapter of this story.

AUTHOR: Dreamr  
E-MAIL:   
LAST REVISION:

* * *

BEGIN.

Between the two of them, Sasami and Washu should have been able to get Ryoko out of Washu's lab and into the house to sit down for dinner. But Ryoko was still being stubborn. She held her arms locked on either side of the inside of the lab's door-frame, preventing them from getting her through. Even with both of them pushing on her, she still wouldn't budge.

"Come on, Ryoko!" Sasami groaned as she tried harder. "Everybody's waiting!"

"Forget it!"

"Your Mother is getting upset with you, Little Ryoko!" Washu grunted as she pushed on Ryoko's back.

"I don't wanna!"

"Well, you're gonna!"

"I won't! I won't! I won't!" Ryoko shook her head furiously, refusing to budge no matter how hard they pushed.

"Miss Ryoko!"

The contest paused at the sound of Katsuhito's voice calling to Ryoko from his place at the head of the table.

"Come have dinner with the rest of your family, won't you?"

The older man's words hit her in a tender spot. For a moment, Ryoko's will wavered. Washu, sensing that the time was ripe, gave her a good shove, sending her through the doorway and into view. Afraid to meet the stares of the others, Ryoko stood in the hallway with her eyes on the floor. Mihoshi would be there. So would Tenchi and Aeka. She looked up just enough so she could see who was present and where. Everyone was at the table, waiting for her. Katsuhito was smiling supportively. Opposite from him, at the other end of the table, was Tenchi. He had yet to speak. But he was looking at her expectantly. Sitting next to Tenchi on the far side of the table, Mihoshi was skittishly staring into the empty bowl that sat on the table in front of her.

"Come on, Ryoko." Sasami took her hand and started pulling her towards the table. "I even made your noodles Thai-style so you can taste them."

Ryoko knew that to be the truth. The noodles were so spicy-hot she could smell them from the hallway. She'd once convinced Mihoshi to try them. The poor girl had farted fireballs for three days. Reluctantly, Ryoko followed Sasami to the table. Washu followed them, taking a place between her and Aeka, who was sitting next to Tenchi on the near side of the table. Nobuyuki was sitting on Mihoshi's other side, between her and where Sasami would take her place. Sitting down at the table, Ryoko easily sensed the uneasiness from three different places at the table: Aeka to her far right, Nobuyuki across in the middle, and especially Mihoshi diagonally across. Ryo-o-ki, in her child-form, was sitting kitty-corner between her and Katsuhito.

"Well, Tenchi." Katsuhito started. "Why don't we start?"

Tenchi wasn't one for an actual prayer at meal-time. But he still had one small thing he wanted to say before they ate.

"I'm glad that everyone's here tonight."

His statement brought smiles of agreement from the girls, although no one could see Ryoko's face because her head was hanging so far down. The men nodded in approval.

"Let's eat!"

With a sigh, Ryoko silently went through the motions. She had no need to eat. It was only a social thing she did to fit in. An immense bowl of incredibly spicy noodles was sitting on the table right under her nose. Considering the fact that Sasami had made these noodles especially for her, Ryoko decided she should at least eat them. Just as she was taking the chop-sticks in her right hand, someone thrust a carrot right in her face.

"Mya!"

Ryoko traced the orange tuber back to it's owner, Ryo-o-ki. The little girl was smiling and holding the carrot to her. Ryoko shook her head with a rueful smile.

"No, thanks. You eat it."

Ryo-o-ki didn't offer again. She retracted the carrot and happily bit off the top third.

"It sure is quiet tonight." Nobuyuki remarked about the lack of speech. The only sounds to be heard were those of utensils clicking on plates, and Ryo-o-ki's teeth crushing carrot.

"Yes." Aeka agreed. "It's quite nice, really."

Mihoshi's bracelet began to beep. No one could tell whether her sigh was of regret or relief.

"Sorry. I have to go."

Tenchi also sighed aloud as Mihoshi dug through her pockets for her cube.

"Well, I guess it was too good to last."

"Now what did I do with my cube?" Various non-GP articles began to pile up on the dining table as Mihoshi emptied her pockets in search of her GP issue cube. With a deafening clank, the gold and silver medallion hit the table. Everyone in attendance gasped. Unfortunately for Washu, she also inhaled a large chunk of fish. She immediately set to coughing. Without warning, the formerly silent Ryoko suddenly leapt to her feet and lunged for the medallion.

"Gimme that!"

Mihoshi dodged behind Tenchi, screeching in fright.

"Don't let her get me!"

Taken by surprise at Mihoshi's sudden move, Tenchi dropped an entire bowl of hot fish chowder in his lap.

"Tenchi!" Aeka immediately grabbed every napkin and towel she could find to help wipe up the mess.

Tenchi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so as not to cry out at the pain. The last thing everyone needed this evening was more yelling. As the pain slowly dulled, he let out the breath that he had not realized he had been holding.

"Ow."

Nobuyuki leaned across the table and began smacking Washu on the back to assist her in coughing up the food she had inhaled.

"Come on now. Hack it up!"

On the third smack, a large chunk of chowdered fish finally came loose, along with the attendant liquid broth. The chunk of food splashed into the large serving bowl of chowder sitting in the middle of the table, ruining the entire meal.

"My chowder..." Sasami stared at the contaminated food. Tears began to gather in her eyes as she thought of all the hard work she had put into it.

All at once, several voices yelled in annoyance at the same time.

"Ryoko!"

Looking around the table, Ryoko saw that nearly everyone was angrily glaring at her, except for Mihoshi, who peeked out from behind Tenchi. The blonde quickly hid her face again. Nobuyuki, for ruining his quiet dinner, Sasami, for ruining her food, Aeka, since when did Aeka need an excuse to glare at her, and Washu, for causing her to nearly choke to death. Suddenly confronted by all these negative emotions, Ryoko began to panic.

"I..."

Forgetting that Ryo-o-ki was sitting right next to her, she took a frightened step back and tripped over the little girl. Ryoko fell back on her rear with a thud. Ryo-o-ki rolled backwards, reverting to her animal form.

"Sorry..." Ryoko tried to apologize. But if there was one thing Ryo-o-ki really hated, it was being disturbed while eating her carrots. The fuzzy creature sat up and glared at her along with the others.

"MYA! Ryeow ya myan mya!"

Although the others couldn't understand Ryo-o-ki, she could. What she had said was not very supportive. Ryoko bit her lower lip to keep it from quivering. Directly in front of her, Katsuhito seemed to have ignored the entire incident. That was good to see. Tenchi was also acting very calm.

"Ryoko..."

"I didn't mean it!" Ryoko blurted out, hoping Tenchi would understand.

"I understand that." Tenchi looked up, revealing her angry expression. "But do you have any idea how much that hurt!?"

Ryoko scrambled back into the corner. Her chest felt like it was going to implode, despite how fast her heart was racing. She curled up into a ball and hid her face behind her raised knees.

Aeka took the napkins she had gathered and tried to help Tenchi by mopping up some of the mess.

"Here. Let me --"

"OW!" Tenchi immediately yelled at the pain of the unexpected contact on his fried nerve endings. "Don't touch me!"

Aeka recoiled at Tenchi's objection. Although she intended to apologize, Ryoko beat her to it.

"I'm sorry... Tenchi."

Everyone looked at her again when they heard the pain in her voice.

"I'm sorry for being such a monster."

The annoyance faded from Washu's face like water. In her mind, she could feel the walls Ryoko normally kept around her mind crumbling. It was normal for Ryoko to do her best to keep Washu out of her mind. The scientist likened the girl's barriers to a wall. Over the past months, the wall had been slowly getting shorter and thinner, coming down one brick at a time. After yesterday, the wall had gone up so strong that it resembled the Great Wall of China, keeping anyone and everything out. But now it was crumbling disastrously, like a mud-brick high-rise during an eight-point earthquake.

"Hey, now..."

But before she or anyone else could say more, Ryoko faded through the floor like a ghost. Everyone was silent, except for Katsuhito, who set his bowl down, then rose to his feet.

"Thank you for the meal, Sasami. It was delicious."

"Well, your welcome."

"Miss Mihoshi?"

"Yes?" Mihoshi replied, still using Tenchi for cover.

"Ryoko has left. You need not hide any further."

Mihoshi looked around Tenchi's head again to verify the priest's account. Seeing the former pirate was no longer in attendance, she sighed with relief.

"I hate to say it, but, sometimes... Ryoko really frightens me!"

"Me, too." Tenchi agreed, along with Aeka and his father. Sasami and Washu kept silent.

Normally, Katsuhito would not get involved in the family politics, so to speak. But hearing that, he couldn't help a snort of disgust.

"When was the last time someone at this table offered Ryoko a kind word of support, or thanked her for something she has done?"

No one spoke. They only looked around at each other, hoping someone else would answer.

"I see. Tenchi, I expect you for practice tomorrow morning at six o'clock, sharp."

"Six!? But tomorrow's Sunday!"

Katsuhito fixed his grandson within his stony gaze. Although it would be considered inappropriate to punish the house-guests, he could still use Tenchi as an example. His discomfort would transfer onto them.

"Indeed. Perhaps five would be better."

Tenchi knew when to shut-up.

"No, Grandpa. Six is fine."

"Very well. Little Washu?"

Washu looked up at the elder man with a thoughtful reply.

"Yes?"

"Would you be so kind as to see that Tenchi is fit for training tomorrow morning?"

Washu's face lit up.

"You mean I get to play doctor with Tenchi?"

Tenchi whimpered at the thought of Washu's preferred forms of medical attention.

  


The Masaki Shrine, even before it began to be known by that name seven hundred years ago, had always been a place of quiet beauty. That peace was one of the reasons Yosho had decided to stay in this place back then. Well, that and the pretty young lady by the name of Kasumi. Getting involved with her had not been intentional. But the poor girl had practically clung to him after he'd rescued her from Ryoko. Katsuhito sighed aloud as he approached the door to the shrine. The poor girl just couldn't keep out of trouble. Even in what was likely the most forgiving household in the galaxy, she still managed to draw a great deal of negative attention. She just didn't seem to have the skills necessary to co-exist with others. It wasn't her fault that she had not had he opportunity to develop those skills. But it was difficult for him to feel sympathy for someone who wasn't trying very hard.

As he reached for the door, the priest heard something from within. Listening carefully, he thought it sounded like a girl sobbing. It didn't take a detective to figure out who it was. He hesitated to open the door. If Ryoko wished to be alone, this was not the place for solitude. The Masaki shrine had no less than three guardian kami. Either they were sleeping on the job or they wished for her to enter. Perhaps Tsunami had interceded on Ryoko's behalf. No matter which it was, who was he to question the will of the Gods?

Katsuhito slid the rice-paper door open with deliberate slowness. Ryoko was not in the main room where important ceremonies took place. However, the sobbing quickly subsided. He quickly deduced that Ryoko was in the office and had heard him enter. Closing the door behind him, the priest made his way to the office and then slid that door open as well. Ryoko was slouched over his office desk with her arms wrapped about her head like it would keep out the rest of the world. Again, with smooth deliberate motions so as not to alarm her, Katsuhito closed the office door and walked to the other side of the desk opposite Ryoko. He sat cross-legged in front of her. Neither of them said a word for well over a minute. Then, Ryoko lifted a hand from her head and held it out over the desk. She opened her hand, and a translucent red bead fell to the table. It bounced a couple times, then rolled to a stop in a small crack in the table. Any normal person might have thought it was glass, or perhaps a ruby. But Katsuhito knew it to be one of Ryoko's gems.

"Put me back in the cave."

Katsuhito's eyebrows shot up.

"You can't be serious."

"They hate me."

"No, they don't."

"It doesn't matter. I can't stay."

"Self-pity does not become you."

"I hurt Tenchi today."

"It was an accident."

"I ruined Sasami's dinner again."

"And this is different how?"

"I tried to kill everyone, yesterday."

"No. Not everyone was present."

Ryoko growled at him from behind her arms.

"Fine. I tried to destroy your tree, kill you and Tenchi's father, dismember Mihoshi, and... I don't know what I was trying to do to Aeka."

"I believe the phrase you're looking for is sexual assault. There would have to be actual penetration for it to be rape."

"Big difference."

"I often think the same thing."

"Who gave you all the answers?"

"I'm a Shinto priest and a grandfather. I'm supposed to have all the answers."

"So, then. Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

Katsuhito had to actually think about how to best answer that.

"I had my reasons."

"Shit. You should'a just killed me."

"No."

Ryoko finally had had enough. She lifted her head and shouted in the priest's face.

"Then why do I have to go through all this!? Why did you spare me knowing something like this could happen?"

"Come now. Even Washu can't predict the future."

"Maybe I should tell her you said that."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't."

Ryoko sat back and set her chin in her hands on the table. By her pained expression, she looked like she was settling in for a good long sulk. Katsuhito leaned over to a small wooden cabinet and opened the simple doors of it's body, revealing the sake he had hidden inside. Pulling out the bottle and two cups, he set them on the table.

"Have a drink."

Ryoko glared at him as he unstoppered the bottle.

"You tryin' to liquor me up?"

"No." Katsuhito chuckled aloud pouring a drink for each of them. "Just have a drink and try to relax."

"How can I when every time I close my eyes I see people screaming?"

"Perhaps its just a residual effect of the hypnosis?"

With a sigh, Ryoko reached down and took one of the cups.

"Maybe." She grumbled, swishing the liquid around in the cup to see how far up the side she could make it go without spilling.

Katsuhito raised his cup to propose a toast.

"To family. May they always be at our side."

The statement shocked Ryoko so badly her fingers went numb. The cup slipped away and fell to the table, spilling good sake everywhere. Tears welled-up in her eyes as self-control began to flee like cockroaches before an exterminator.

"What's wrong, Miss Ryoko?"

"I... I... tried... to kill them. How can they even stand to look at me?"

"Because that is what family is about. They care for you, Ryoko. Much more than you are willing to admit."

"Then... put me back, or finish me off. Either one, I don't care. I just... I..." Ryoko looked up at Katsuhito, finally meeting his gaze. "I don't want to hurt people who care about me."

Katsuhito set his sake down.

"And how would those people feel if I did as you ask?"

Ryoko looked away.

"Besides, Tenchi possess the Master Key, now. I could do neither of those even if I wanted."

"I see." Ryoko slowly stood up. "Then, I guess I don't have much choice."

"What are you thinking, Ryoko?"

"I'm leaving."

"Where will you go?"

"Someplace else."

"I see. And just how do you plan on getting there?"

"You sure are nosy today. I'll take Ryo-o-ki."

"You think she's willing to leave everyone behind?"

"It doesn't matter if she's willing or not. I can control her with... uh... oh, yeah!"

Ryoko dropped to her knees in front of Katsuhito while he held up her gem between his thumb and forefinger.

"Can I please have my gem back?"

"No, I think I'll hold on to this for the time being."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

Veins under the skin of Ryoko's forehead began to pulse with irritation.

"Lord Yosho..."

"I can see you are decided on this matter. However, before you leave, I would like to ask a small favor of you."

Ryoko looked away, pouting in child-like irritation with her arms folded across her chest.

"You won't give me my gem. So why should I?"

"How did it make you feel to be controlled by Kagato?"

Ryoko quieted down considerably.

"Ah... well..."

"Mmm. Well, then. I have a message that I would like delivered to a certain person at the Galaxy Academy. I assume you know where that is."

"Yes."

"That should give you a starting direction. From there, your journey is up to you."

"But my gems..."

"... give you too much power for the Jurai Royal Family to ignore. Besides, you don't need them for everyday life, do you?"

"Not... really."

"Perhaps, when you return..."

"The Royal Family feels safer, and I have a reason to come back, is that it?"

"It is."

Seeing the wisdom behind Katsuhito's plan, Ryoko slowly nodded.

"All right." She held out her hand to receive the message. "Who's it going to?"

Katsuhito smiled innocently at her.

"Actually, I haven't written it yet."

"What!?"

  


Everyone sat or stood quietly, unsure of how to break the uneasy silence now that Katsuhito had left. Washu was thinking of what experiments she could conduct on Tenchi without him realizing it, when Mihoshi's bracelet went off again. The tone was much louder this time. She looked at the stridently sounding object to reconfirm what she already knew.

"I guess I'd better go."

Holding up her other hand, Mihoshi looked at the medallion with a grimace.

"I never realized hypnotizing someone could cause so much trouble."

Mihoshi's statement brought Washu back to the present scene.

"By the way, Mihoshi. Would you mind of I borrowed that for a bit? I'd like to examine it."

"Um, okay. I don't see why not. I can come pick it up when I get done with whatever it is Yukinojo wants me to do."

Mihoshi held the precious device out to Washu who snatched it out of her hand.

"Well, see you all later."

Mihoshi gave her cube a twist, and she disappeared into thin air.

Washu stared at the medallion for a second. Her eyelids immediately began to droop. Sensing what was happening, she shook her head to clear the blurry sensation from her mind. With the medallion in hand, she got up and took a step closer to Tenchi.

"All right, Tenchi. Come with me if you want to live."

"Eh? I don't think it's that bad."

"I was talking about your grandfather."

"Oh, right." Tenchi stood up with a grimace as the cloth of his trousers rubbed against his tender-burned skin. Following along behind the genius scientist, Tenchi tentatively followed her through the portal into her domain. As soon as the door closed behind him, Washu snapped her fingers, bringing a pair of familiar mechanical octopus-looking droids to hold him.

"Hey! Washu!" Tenchi's voice was quickly stifled by a large wad of cloth that one of the robots stuffed into his mouth. It was a good thing, too. The robots quickly pulled off all of his clothes without so much as a "May I".

"Mrm-mrrm!"

"Hush, now." Washu told him. "The doctor will be right with you."

Washu headed off to another area of her lab, leaving Tenchi at the mercy of the mechanical contraptions. She strode quickly to the Containment Lab. Here, she could work on devices and inventions that had potentially harmful or wide-reaching effects without fear of them getting out of control. If the medallion she had in her hand was what she thought, it needed to be in a contained area, where even Mihoshi, especially Mihoshi, could not get at it. The Containment Lab was basically a central lab table with surrounding shields that kept negative effects from escaping. Once Washu reached the table she spoke the verbal commands to activate the shields she required.

"Energy containment shields on."

A brief orange shimmering effect surrounded the top of the lab table. It quickly turned invisible as the energy barrier oscillation frequency rose to something beyond that which could be seen by the naked eye. If this device were what she thought, then the field was probably unnecessary. But it was better to err on the side of safety. In any event, the barrier was only a boundary to strong forms of energy, not physical movement. She could work on the device in relative safety. However, there was still a patient in the next room that she had to look after.

Walking back out of the lab to where she had left Tenchi, Washu looked over her shoulder at the silly gag-gift that she had given to her husband so many thousands of years ago.

"Unbelievable..."

  


"Sister Aeka?"

Aeka looked up from the dinner plate that she was drying with a hand-cloth to see what her sister wanted. Sasami was washing the plates by hand, a task that Aeka considered very bad for the skin, especially considering that the household possessed an automatic dishwasher. Aeka put the dry plate up in a cabinet with the others that she had already finished.

"Yes, Sasami?"

"Do you think we were a little hard on Ryoko earlier?"

"Of course not." Aeka quickly answered.

"I don't know. She seemed awfully upset."

"Ryoko brings such things down upon herself."

"But you're the one who insisted on trying to hypnotize her."

Aeka cringed at the reminder.

"Well, if Miss Mihoshi hadn't brought that silly medallion in, none of this would have happened in the first place."

"True." Sasami handed the plate that she was working on to her sister without rinsing it. "But still..."

"This one's not done." Aeka handed the plate she had just received back to Sasami.

"Huh?" Sasami stared at the plate like it was from her grandmother's fine table set. "Oh. Sorry." She took it back and set it in the right side of the sink for rinsing.

"It's just that... I don't know. Maybe Grandfather's right. Maybe we should try to be more supportive of her."

"Well, I don't know how. I make every effort to correct Miss Ryoko when she does something wrong. But she just won't have it. She gets frustrated too easily at even the simplest tasks, like washing the dishes for instance. Is not tonight her night for it?"

"You can't expect her to try something like this tonight."

"That's exactly my point! She's completely unreliable. Even the simplest tasks are beyond her ability."

"That's not true!" Sasami turned on her sister with a scowl. "Ryoko's not good at this sort of thing because she never had to do it before."

"I understand that. But she doesn't even try! Most of the time she runs-off to get drunk! She dirties enough of these dishes that she should at least do her part. Is it really too much to ask of her?"

"Okay, so she's not good at doing the dishes. But she does do her other chores."

"Oh, yes. If Lord Tenchi asks her to. And ONLY if HE asks. Ridiculous."

"That's because Ryoko loves Tenchi! She'd do anything if he asked her to."

"Lord Tenchi should not have to ask her! Frankly, I'll wager he would be more impressed if she simply did them when she was supposed to. Of course, we've already been through that. Can you imagine her trying to maintain his household?" Aeka actually shivered at the thought. "I get chills just thinking about it. And never mind children. We've both seen her with little Taro. I would sooner trust her with the crown jewels. Lord Tenchi deserves far better than her."

A sniffle from the girl at the sink caught Aeka's attention.

"Sasami?"

"When did my sister become so hateful?"

The question was obviously rhetorical. But to Aeka's surprise, an answer was easy to obtain.

"When someone tried to kill my brother and sister."

Moving quickly, Aeka put her arms around Sasami and held her close.

"It's not that I really hate Ryoko. I just can't trust her. Especially after what happened yesterday. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to you, Sasami. You're my one and only little sister. And imagine how mother and father would feel?"

Sasami wrapped her arms around Aeka's waist.

"I love my sister."

A gentle smile tugged at the corners of Aeka's lips.

"I love my sister, as well."

"But I love Ryoko, too. Even when she causes trouble."

A large drop of sweat rolled down Aeka's face.

"I... see."

  


An event had occurred within the Masaki house that Nobuyuki considered a true miracle. He had the television to himself on a Saturday night. It was completely unprecedented. Mihoshi was on patrol, Washu and Tenchi were in the lab, Sasami and Aeka were in the kitchen doing the dishes, Ryoko was off gallivanting around doing whatever it is she likes to do, Ryo-o-ki was upstairs taking a post-meal nap, and his Father-in-law was up at the shrine. Totally and completely unprecedented. Even better, he had a cold beer in one hand and the remote in the other. What luxury! Nobuyuki slouched down in the cushions, even setting his feet up on the coffee table. Nothing could spoil this evening, absolutely nothing!

BRINGG!!

Nobuyuki sighed loudly. Nothing except the telephone. He just prayed to his dear wife in heaven that it wasn't the office. Getting back to his stocking feet, Nobuyuki reluctantly went to answer it.

"Yes, Masaki residence. Oh, Dad. Eh? Washu? In her lab with Tenchi, last time I checked. Send her up? Sure. I can do that. Yup."

Nobuyuki hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. A little request from Dad was easy to fulfill. Looking surreptitiously around, Nobuyuki took the receiver back off the hook and set it on the table top so that no other calls could come in. Walking to the red door, he pulled it open and stuck his head inside to call the resident super-genius. An ear-splitting howl assaulted his senses.

"Dad! Help me!"

"Tenchi?"

"Hiya!"

Washu waved to Nobuyuki with one hand. In the other she held a syringe with a very long needle.

"Washu, you're not intending to use that on my son, are you?"

"On Tenchi?" Washu had the good sense to blush as she tossed the wicked looking instrument of medical mal-practice away. "No! Of course not, Mister Masaki! We were just playing Doctor!"

"Yeah, isn't that nice? Dad wants to see you up in the shrine when you get a chance."

"Me?"

Washu looked up at her playmate with an evil smile.

"Sure. This can wait."

"You can't leave me like this!"

Washu waved at Nobuyuki to close the door.

"I'll be right there. Just make sure to close the door on your way out. Wouldn't want the screams... er, uh... bugs! yeah... to get out."

"Yeah..." Nobuyuki took one more look around. Some of the implements of Washu's technique more closely resembled those of medieval medicine than something he would expect of a modern medical wizard. He closed the door on the weird scene.

"Man, my son sure has strange tastes in women."

  


"Well, you made me come all the way up here to see you, so it had better be important. I was tending to Tenchi, you know."

"Indeed. And I thank you for it. But something has come up."

"Yeah, me!"

Sitting down across from Katsuhito, Washu spied the extra cup and open bottle of sake.

"May I?"

"Be my guest."

Katsuhito continued to look out the window into the darkening sky as Washu helped herself to the sake.

"I just had an interesting discussion with Ryoko."

"Really? What did she want to talk about?"

"She asked me to seal her back in the cave."

Washu froze in shock. But she soon dismissed the comment as an ill-conceived jest.

"Yeah, right." Washu slurped down her first cup and went for more. "She's terrified of the dark. Ryoko'd rather die than go back in there."

"Since you happen to mention that, when I refused, she then asked me to finish her off."

Shock upon shock. The feel of liquid pouring over her fingers reminded Washu that she was supposed to be filling her cup. She quickly righted the bottle, but not before spilling a good measure on the table.

"Damn. You're not kidding, are you?"

"No."

Being careful not to set her elbow in the small puddle of sake she had spilled, Washu set her arms up on the table and swirled her sake around in the cup, seeing how far she could get the liquid to ride the sides of the cup before it went over the top.

"Considering that this mountain is still standing, it's obvious that didn't happen."

"Of course. However, it seems she is more terrified of hurting her friends than going back into isolation."

Washu drained the cup before slamming it down in the table. The bottle jumped from the force of it.

"Damn! I should have seen it! She wasn't afraid of facing the others, she was afraid of something more happening. But why that? Why would she ask for that, unless... Wait! If she were afraid of hurting us, and you wouldn't do as she asked... Where is she?"

"Gone."

Washu stared blankly at Katsuhito.

"What?"

"Ryoko is determined to keep as far away from this family as possible in order to protect us from herself."

"That's crazy! She needs the support of a family group!"

"I would agree. Except Ryoko has a personality that most people find, at the least, objectionable. She has gone on a journey to find her true self."

"And you just let her waltz off into the galaxy?"

"It was not my choice to make. If you makes you feel any better, I did manage to convince her to perform a small errand for me. Perhaps in the conduct of that errand, she will find a path that appeals to her."

Washu flopped down on her haunches like an under-stuffed rag-doll. It was happening all over again. The first time had nearly broken her. Losing a child to the vastness of the universe was bad enough, even when there was the knowledge that that child was being taken care of. This time there was no one her child could rely on. Ryoko was alone. Or was she?

"She took Ryo-o-ki?"

"Unless she happens to possess another ship somewhere around here. Although, she did leave something for you."

"For me?"

Katsuhito turned from the window and sat square to Washu. There was a small wooden box in front of him. He pushed the box across the table to her. Limply, Washu lifted the cover. Ryoko's gem lay inside. A red gem inside a red cherry-wood box. Closing the lid, Washu pushed the box back to Katsuhito.

"I don't want it."

"Eh?" Katsuhito raised an eyebrow at that.

"I want my Ryoko to come home."

"Miss Washu..."

Something within Washu begged for release. Anger, frustration, pain... all of those and more. She knew in her heart that she could change everything to the way she wanted it. The power was there for her, if she could only find the strength of will to reclaim it. But, like when she had learned that her husband had taken their son back to his planet, the voice was present again.

"Don't do it. Don't repeat the past. It will happen again."

"It has repeated!"

"Don't do it."

Washu tried to restrain herself. But she needed a reason to hold back. What was so important that she should not embrace the power that lay just beyond the fringes of her mind? She wanted to change things, to erase the pain, and make things good again.

"It will be repeated."

"I don't care!"

"It will be repeated."

"Go away!"

"It WILL be repeated."

Washu slumped in on herself.

"I want my little girl back."

"Don't touch it."

Katsuhito could hear Washu verbal pleading. But he was unaware of the internal struggle raging within.

"She will return someday."

"I want my little Mikumo back."

"What's done is done."

"I want my husband back."

Katsuhito sensed anger creeping in to Washu's tortured voice. There was only so much loss a person could take in one lifetime before the pain became too much to bear. This, he knew very well.

"Miss Washu, perhaps..."

Washu lifted her tear-filled eyes. She inhaled deeply, then shouted her inner-most desire to the heavens.

"I WANT MY FAMILY BACK!"

  


Sasami dropped an entire stack of dishes on the floor. As clear as day she had heard the pain-filled scream in her mind.

"Sasami!" Aeka grasped her by the shoulders and looked her in the face. "What's wrong?"

"I... I heard Washu's voice... in my mind."

"What? How is that possible?"

A tear fell from Sasami's eye.

"She's lost someone very important to her."

"Who could that be?" Aeka wondered aloud. Her eyes widened as she came to the correct answer. "Ryoko! What has that woman done this time!?"

"We should go see Washu!"

"But the dishes..."

Sasami's lip quivered as she gave Aeka her best sad little girl look. When Aeka saw her little sister near tears, she decided the dishes could wait.

"All right. I believe I heard her grumbling something about going up to see Brother Yosho at the shrine."

  


The Crown Prince of Jurai saw something within Washu that was truly frightening. He felt a power emanating from her fully-grown form that dwarfed even the Tsunami-bred space-trees of Jurai. It was so great and all-encompassing that he could not even begin to understand it. She was magnificent and terrifying all at the same time. It occurred to him that it might not be such a good idea for Washu to gain possession of such power in her current frame of mind. He leapt over the table and embraced the woman, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Your family is here, Washu."

The presence faded as quickly as it appeared. For a split-second, Washu had felt what true power was. It was everything, yet nothing. She could have anything she wanted. But it would be meaningless. Down the quick and easy path lay nothing but self-destruction.

There was a warmth about her. A warm presence that reminded her of something good. It was less than the all of absolute power. It was more than oblivion. This simple feeling held meaning.

"Don't repeat the mistakes of the past."

The warmth seemed better than the power. Feeling was what she wanted, not power. Washu relaxed, allowing the force that normally lay beyond her mind to recede back into the darkness once again. With a start, she realized she was in a man's arms.

"Welcome back."

His voice was deep and sonorous. Looking at the man's face, she realized she was looking at Prince Yosho Masaki, rather than Tenchi's grandfather, Katsuhito. She looked away from his dark eyes, uncertain of how to react. It had been so long since she had allowed a man to hold her that she had nearly forgotten what it felt like. A number of witty remarks came to mind. But none of them conveyed how she really felt at this moment. Science was the love of her life. But science couldn't love her back. Slowly, so as not to give him the impression that she wanted out, Washu slid her arms around Yosho's neck. She looked into his eyes and spoke.

"Thanks."

  


Hearing the sound of breaking dishes was nothing new to Nobuyuki. He likened it to the sound of a child's piggy-bank being shattered. Buying new dishes certainly reminded him of it. He was just getting up to check on the girls in the kitchen when Aeka and Sasami came rushing out. They weren't running, but they were definitely in a hurry.

"Something up, girls?"

"We're about to find out." Aeka answered as she swept by Nobuyuki with hardly a glance.

"O-o-o-kay." Nobuyuki scratched at his scalp as they left. Curious, he went to the kitchen door and took a peek in. His jaw dropped at the huge pile of shattered dishes.

"Good God!"

  


Since Sasami seemed to be certain that some tragedy had befallen Washu, Aeka took the shrine stairs two at a time to reach the top faster. She quickly left her sister behind. Once she arrived at the top, she spent only the space of a single breath to rest. She went straight to the shrine itself and opened the door. No one was in sight. But the office door was closed. Moving quickly, she stepped up to the door and flung it open.

"Brother, have you seen..."

The significance of seeing Washu and her brother, her youthful, handsome brother, making out on the floor was not lost on Aeka.

"Miss Washu!"

The tall redhead pushed herself up so that she was looking down at Yosho from her place straddled across his hips. It wasn't like they had their clothes off or anything. But she had been enjoying herself.

"It's been a while since someone walked-in on me."

Yosho sighed aloud. The situation was completely compromised.

"Yes, Aeka?"

Aeka averted her eyes.

"Ah, well, you see, um... Sasami! There was Sasami, in the kitchen, and... uh... I didn't mean to interrupt. But, I can see that I did, even though, um, there likely wasn't anything to interrupt, of course. But, Washu lost something, and..."

"Aeka!"

The princess bowed at the waist.

"Yes!"

"Close the door."

"Yes, Brother."

Aeka slid the rice-paper door shut just in time to prevent her young, sweet, and above all, innocent little sister from getting the biggest shock of her life.

"Aeka, you run too fast!" Sasami trotted over to her sister's side. "Did you find Little Washu?"

"Little Washu?" Aeka blankly repeated, trying to think through the haze of white shock that still enveloped her mind. "No, no little Washu."

"Oh. Well have you looked in here?" Sasami reached for the office door.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean..." Aeka grabbed Sasami's shoulder and turned her towards the door. "LITTLE Washu is not here. There, I mean. Not in any way. No LITTLE Washus in this shrine. Let's go look someplace else."

"Okay..."

  


Suspended in the air by several robotic arms, Tenchi whimpered in the darkness.

"Please. Somebody help me..."

END.

* * *

AFTERWORD: That's it for now. I think I may at some time make a pair of sequels to this story. I think the first sequel would be Ryoko out on her own in space. I also think that if she were to team-up with a good business partner, she could make a lot of money as a legitimate trader. I have someone in mind, but I won't say who. I think the second sequel (part 3) would be her return home. It might be very interesting to see how things have changed while she was gone. 


End file.
